The good news is that schools are generally safe. The bad news is that this is only because school shootings are rare. In research cited by The Washington Post just last month, it was revealed that, on any given day since 1999, the odds of an individual public school student being shot to death at school was approximately one in 614,000,000.
The bad news is that the security situation at most schools is abysmal. It has become clear that simply declaring schools, or any other area, to be “gun free” doesn’t work, even when there are emphatic signs posted and strict policies adopted. Individuals focused on committing multiple-victim public killings don’t obey the law. However, there is some evidence, reported during Michigan Senate committee testimony by researcher Dr. John R. Lott, that several mass shooters selected their “gun-free” locations because there would be no one there to shoot back.
The Michigan-specific data (publicly available on the Michigan State Police website), shows that individuals with Concealed Pistol Licenses are extremely law abiding. In fact, for 2016, the most recent year for which full data is available, the general public has a crime rate 25 times higher than the rate for CPL holders.
According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, there are 18 states where teachers and staff may carry concealed pistols. While it is difficult to ascertain exact numbers, there are many individuals who have carried guns in those schools over a period of several years. The media is quick to report any negative incidents. There have only been a few.
Recently, it was revealed that the Centers for Disease Control failed to report their findings that armed citizens use guns in self-defense approximately 2.5 million times each year, confirming the findings of researcher Dr. Gary Kleck. This figure is approximately eight times the number of criminal gun uses each year.
The choice is clear -either continue to do nothing and rely on blind luck to protect our school children, spend large amounts of money on airport-like security measures, or allow teachers, staff and parents who are members of a group (CPL holders) that has demonstrated responsibility and public utility, to carry their pistols on school premises.
Steven W. Dulan, J.D., is the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners’ Second Vice Chair, MCRGO Legal Foundation Chair, Media Contact and Director South-Central Lower Peninsula, as well as serving as an attorney and real estate broker in the Lansing area. He can be reached at dulans@cooley.edu or 517.333.7132.
