Length: 789 Words Reading Time: 3 Minutes
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure Regarding School Shootings
I believe it would add value to the discussion of school shootings if we analyze the problem in a structured, systematic way.
Let’s begin by imagining a circle drawn on the wall and dividing that circle into several pie slices. Each pie slice represents a sub-problem or related element of the school shooting problem.
The overarching strategy is that prevention is crucial, and any actions that can prevent shooting incidents should be evaluated and implemented. The other overarching strategy is to get politics out of the equation and out of the deliberations. Everyone should leave their ideologies and hidden agendas at the door.
Address school shootings at the local community level.
Each school in our country is unique in physical design and configuration, whether private or public. It is impossible to develop a one-size-fits-all solution, but schools can adopt one or more best practices for safety and security. Each school and the parents of the students can focus their time, energy, and locally-provided funds on making their school safe and secure by adopting generalized best practices. To wait for Congress or the Federal Government to take action on a national, centralized scale would be futile and fruitless. Time is of the essence, and each school can act on its own and solve its unique, local issues. The community that supports a specific school should be able to raise funds necessary to pay for the immediately-needed safety and security improvements. Inner-city schools may have to be handled on an exception basis because funds may not be readily available from parents.
Formulate safety and security best practices that can be adopted by any school.
President Trump can make a direct contribution to the national solution. He can do this by creating a small task force of experts to determine what are the accepted best practices for school safety and security. Controlled building access, use of metal detectors, and security guards may be a reasonable starting point, but only a starting point. World Café and Open Space Technology problem-solving techniques can be used to guide the formulation of ideas or approaches that may be of value.
Implement on a priority basis a simple but comprehensive background check system.
A simple but comprehensive background check system is needed to enable the vetting and screening of bad characters from purchasing firearms. However, there are privacy issues that need to be considered and addressed. The American people need to weigh in on this critical aspect of the debate.
The development of a simple but comprehensive background check system that is used by all 50 states is not a trivial task. Data entry and data accuracy are challenging technical issues; moreover, keeping the system up to date would be very labor-intensive and cumbersome.
The existing system may not be the best starting point, but a technical evaluation would be necessary to determine whether to re-engineer the current system or start from scratch. The key design consideration is that the Federal Government should not build the system. This system is a project for the private sector. In fact, as a pro bono project, the National Rifle Association would be an excellent candidate to fund this effort.
Document lessons learned by schools and communities.
Schools and communities should document what works and what does not work and communicate this information in an online forum. Creating a website that facilitates this communication process would be necessary. However, it should be relatively easy to implement because there are other websites on the Internet with comparable functionality.
Conduct a fact-based review and analysis of mental health issues and gun ownership.
President Trump should take a leadership role for this review. This issue has to be understood more thoroughly, based on a thorough review and analysis of facts. Urban legend, hearsay, and anecdotal stories need not apply.
Set up clear and precise training and certification requirements for gun ownership.
Gun ownership is a right protected by the Constitution. No citizen should object to training and certification, especially those under the age of 25. Everyone should be trained in the whys and wherefores of gun ownership and the attendant responsibilities to the community. Remember, every right has attendant responsibilities. It is that simple.
Facilitate an ongoing national dialogue on the issue of school shootings.
President Trump should take a leadership role for this program as well. Such a national dialogue takes thinking outside the box and requires all parties to the discussion to think strategically and to work collaboratively. The focus should be on solutions, not political grandstanding and posturing.
There are probably other sub-problems or related issues that need addressing. This brief outline is a good starting point, however.