If you just have to know why America’s schools are so vulnerable to mass shootings, what we can do about it, and how to keep your family safe, then you’ve come to the right place. Mass shootings in schools are happening more often. At this point in 2022, there have already been 687 mass shootings in America.

What Can Be Done to Reduce This Number?

By taking one or more steps in the directions listed below, you can do your part to keep your community safer.

1. Invest in More School Resource Officers (SROs)

It makes sense that more armed guards are needed in schools – especially given the recent increased frequency of mass shootings – and SROs are a low-cost way for states to improve school safety. Moreover, there is no reason to believe that private institutions would need armed guards if they only had the same resources as public schools. However, the price tag on some of these programs is $200,000 – $300,000 per officer.

More SROs would make an impact, but it’s not a quick fix for gun violence in this country.

2. Make It a Felony to Have or Use an Assault Weapon

Gun violence is not the answer to mass shootings. The argument that you need an “assault weapon” to protect yourself or your family from intruders is absurd. All the recent school shootings have taken place in well-secured locations where there aren’t any “intruders.” If there are no intruders, and your gun is useless for self-defense, then what’s the point? Police can respond quickly after a shooting, but they cannot prevent a mass shooting before it happens. Not only should possessing an assault rifle be a crime, but those affected by shootings must also take quick action to ensure they receive justice. The steps to take are explained here.

3. Repeal the “Gun-Show Loophole”

You can avoid legal red tape by just buying online, but anyone who is allowed to buy a gun from a store should be subject to the same rules as everyone else: no felons, no people who have been involuntarily committed for mental illness, and so on. Why should someone who buys a gun online be subjected to a background check when somebody buying from a store is not? If you’re old enough to drive and pay taxes, you’re old enough to buy guns, and guns kill people.

4. Create Virtual Schools in More Parts of the Country

A virtual school is a “federally funded school that sends students out of state for part of the year”. These schools are ideal for rural areas but could also help reduce school shootings in other locations around the country. It’s quite simple: if you send your children out of state for part of the year, you don’t have to worry about them going to your kid’s school when you’re at work.

It is possible to reduce the number of mass shootings in this country and keep schools safe, but we must be realistic. A $200,000 investment in one or more SROs is a small price to pay for school safety, but how many more mass shootings are we willing to tolerate? Unfortunately, gun violence has become an everyday occurrence in America, and it’s an epidemic. It will take a lot more than school resource officers to curb this problem, but if states and private organizations are willing to make these investments and try out new solutions like virtual schools, they will be able to save lives spared by these types of programs.