Over the past few weeks, many school shootings and terrorist attacks have struck the nation, most notably the Parkland, Florida shooting on February 14. There were two other notable incidents that occurred in the past month, as well as the attacks on people every day in American Society.

The First incident took place at Dalton High School in Dalton, Georgia on February 28. A teacher was placed into custody after being accused of firing a gun inside a classroom at Dalton classroom. It was reported that the teacher fired a single shot from his handgun at the window, after barricading himself inside a classroom. The teacher refused to let students into the classroom during his free period, and when the principal attempted to get into the room with a key, a gunshot was fired.  The teacher has been identified as 53-year-old Randal Davidson. The school went into “lockdown” mode, and police arrived on the scene and evacuated the area around Davidson’s classroom. After about 45 minutes passed, Davidson agreed to surrender. There was no evidence that Davidson was trying to fire at someone, according to police spokesman Bruce Frazier. Police later tweeted that Davidson would face charges of aggravated assault, carrying a weapon on school grounds, terroristic threats, reckless conduct, possession of a gun during the commission of a crime, and disrupting a public school.

The second incident took place at veterans home in northern California, on March 9. A man has been identified named Albert Wong, 36, and it has been said that he was suffering from bipolar disorder. Wong was a former resident of the veterans home, in which he engaged in a standoff with police. The man held three women hostage inside the veterans home, Jennifer Golick, 42, Christine Loeber, 48, and Jennifer Gonzales, 32, were all found dead inside when authorities arrived on the scene. Wong had been kicked out of the program previously and was seeking revenge.

These are just two examples of the shootings and attacks that happen in this country every single day because of the way people get guns and find harmful ways to use them. Political views aside, we can all agree that these tragedies need to happen less frequently.

Mr. Percarpio, a chemistry teacher at WHHS, said that it could be beneficial and harmful to give hand weapons to teachers. “If the teacher is trained, and they are able to take down an assailant, then its obviously a good thing because it can save lives. But, if the teacher is in a position where they cant use it, then its almost like its useless in a way. I’m really 50-50 on it. Its up to them.”

Mr. Perkins, an English teacher at WHHS, said this about the issue. “I’m not familiar with the two incidents, but I’ll go with my gut and say that its not the best solution, but its not my choice.”

On Monday, March 27, NJ lawmakers will vote to pass 6 bills concerning gun laws, including one to reduce magazine capacity, one to ban armor-piercing bullets, one to make it tougher to obtain a permit to carry a handgun, one to expand background checks, and two to keep firearms out of the hands of people deemed a threat to themselves and others in the state. Governor Phil Murphy plans to sign them all.