On May 24, 2022, Texas had experienced the tragic shooting of Uvalde which left 21 dead. Following this, the Uvalde police were accused of a “obviously poor decision-making“, according to the North Carolina School District.”These officers had been in this building for so long, and this suspect was able to infiltrate this building and injure and kill so many children“Madison Sheriff Buddy Harwood said.”JI just want to make sure my deputies are prepared in case this happens.“, he says to justify this new enhanced security plan.
When schools reopen on August 22, there will therefore be a safe in each school including AR-15s (semi-automatic rifles), as well as ammunition and tools to force barricaded doors.
“We will have these tools to be able to force open the door if necessary. I don’t want to have to run to the car to grab an AR because it’s wasted time. I hope we never need it, but I want my men to be as prepared as they can be.“, says the sheriff of Madison.
The objective of this armament is therefore, according to Buddy Harwood, to allow a rapid response for schools and police in the event of a shooting.
The security plan will also include the presence of a panic button in each building as well as the addition of a liaison officer.
According to the sheriff, school resource officers in the county have undergone training with instructors from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to prepare them for these crisis situations.
The NRA (National Rifle Association of America) supports this decision on Twitter.
A widely criticized measure
“What’s gonna happen is we’re gonna have accidents with these gunsDorothy Espelage, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill in the School of Education, told WLOS-TV. The professor has conducted research and studies for decades to improve school safety as well as student well-being. students. So she explains that “lhe mere presence of a security guard increases violence in schools. There are more arrests of children. Why do they have to have those AR-15s? That does not make any sense.“.
Allison Anderman, a senior attorney and director of local policy at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, told USA Today that this response to “the unique epidemic of gun violence”of the country is “horrible”. “Where there are more guns, there is more gun violence”.
Andy Pelosi, co-founder and executive director of the Keep Guns Off Campus campaign, also spoke to USA Today about his concerns about safes. He points to the possibility that people without authorization could gain access to the safes, which could be extremely dangerous.
“We should ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Part of that discussion needs to be, ‘where do young people who commit these acts get their guns?’, he points out.
Many people also opposed this measure on Twitter.