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Monday, October 20, 2025

Don’t force what doesn’t fit

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I am a firm believer that some things just don’t fit with others so forcing them can almost always prove disastrous.

You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole.

You can’t fit an SUV into a Mini Cooper.

And you can’t fit the role of a law enforcement officer into the job functions of a teacher.

It simply won’t work.

The tragic shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. two weeks ago has spurred additional debates throughout the country about gun laws. Opponents of better control boast “the right to bear arms,” while supporters say, “Effective regulation is paramount.”

Donald Trump opposes gun control. Instead, he would rather arm teachers with guns and have them deal with the problem. His theory on ending these types of attacks further intensifies the problem. In addition, it places unfair responsibilities on teachers. So in addition to being educators — the career they were trained to do — teachers also have to be parents to their students, social workers, and if Trump has his way, armed security guards as well.

Such a “solution” is incredibly irresponsible and dangerous.

But Trump isn’t alone in his perspective.

A Senate judiciary committee in Mississippi has amended a House bill to now allow educators to receive “enhanced law enforcement training of 12 hours every two years and who have enhanced concealed carry training and permits to carry concealed weapons to schools.” The legislation would be applicable to public and private K–12 schools as well as universities and community colleges.

Any educator who uses a weapon under the legislation would be immune and have no liability if that teacher said she feared for her life.

This is wrong on so many levels, but here are two:

1. It is not fair for teachers to assume the role of law enforcement.

Doing so can get teachers severely hurt or killed and they simply aren’t apt for such responsibility. I know someone with an extensive military and law enforcement background. They have to undergo intense, extensive and consecutive trainings. Some trainings build upon previous trainings, so they have to retain what they’ve learned years prior. There is no way an educator who is trained for only 12 hours every two years can exert deductive reasoning in a highly tense situation within seconds, respond under pressure all while simultaneously protecting themselves and a plethora of students. It looks fairly easy in the movies, but any qualified protection expert would tell you otherwise. You cannot fit the role of law enforcement officer into the job functions of a teacher…it simply won’t work.

2. The immunity part scares the heck out of me.

Consider this scenario:

Jason, a six-foot-one-inch Black male, is a sophomore in high school. While he is big for his age, he is a typical teenager who tries to fit in so when he is at school — away from the watchful eyes of his parents – he does things like sag his pants. After chatting with his friends for too long at lunch, Jason races down the now empty hallway to his next class. He runs in the direction of Mrs. Mitchell, who is walking and looking at some notes. Mrs. Mitchell is a five-foot-two-inch white woman who has had limited exposure to African Americans. She looks up from her notes, sees Jason hurriedly running toward her. Her first emotion is fear. She immediately grabs the gun holstered on her waist, but hidden by a cardigan sweater.

Mrs. Mitchell shoots Jason twice, killing him within seconds. Mrs. Mitchell doesn’t serve any prison time because she said she feared for her life. Meanwhile, Jason is dead, his parents are grieving and another life is senselessly lost to gun violence.

While this scenario was fictional, reality is very similar. We’ve seen it countess times before Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman and countless times afterward.

Donald Trump and Mississippi’s “solution” to America’s access to guns will only create more problems.

Politicians at every level of government have been at odds with one another for years as they staunchly advocate for their respective perspectives. Historically, Democrats have supported stronger gun laws and tougher reform while Republicans have fought against such legislation. Though in recent years some Republicans have joined forces with their Democratic counterparts, the vast majority of the Republican Party opposes any form of restrictive legislation largely because the leading pro-gun group in the United States financially contributes billions of dollars to their campaigns. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has a stronghold on politicians so until we mandate accountability from our politicians and the companies who benefit from the NRA, the gun debate divide will continue to widen. And lives will continue to be lost senselessly.

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