View from classroom. Students at South High School don’t want teachers to be armed. »
Junior Vanessa Simkowitz and 100 of her classmates at South High School on Friday rejected the idea that arming teachers is the answer to preventing mass school shootings in America.
Simkowitz especially wanted to make her stance on the issue crystal clear.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, and you can quote me on that,” she said. “Why would you bring even more guns into a situation like that? It doesn’t make sense.”
Simkowitz and other South High student leaders were urged on Friday to loudly and publicly share their views on gun violence by U.S. Rep. Diana Degette, Dcolo., who said their opinions could finally sway lawmakers to pass gun control legislation in the United States.
Already, minds are being changed by the walkouts and activism sparked by the shooting last month at a high school in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17, most of whom were high school students, Degette said.
“I am so proud of high school students in Florida and in Denver who are saying, ‘Enough is enough,' ” she said. “You guys will be the change agents in all of this.”
Degette, who graduated from South High in 1975, called for a question-and-answer session about gun violence in the wake of the Parkland violence.
Degette favors reinstating the assault weapons ban, banning bump stocks — large-capacity ammunition feeding devices — and online ammunition purchases.
She also supports expanding background check requirements to cover all gun sales and raising the age limit for the purchase of a rifle or assault-style gun to 21. Public school teachers also shouldn’t be armed, Degette said.
Not one student raised a hand when Degette asked whether teachers should be allowed to carry guns at schools. She later said school districts, particularly those in Colorado rural areas, should be allowed to set their own guidelines if they want to arm their personnel.
Degette also called for more funding to treat mental illness, a move that could curtail school violence.