The term “guns in school” is a purposely divisive political term meant to make you scared. Every parent knows the instinctive fear that comes with imagining their child in danger. When tragedy strikes a school, the heartbreak is unbearable—and yet, year after year, we debate whether it’s appropriate to protect our kids with the same seriousness we protect our banks, airports, and politicians. If we truly care about children, then give them the same level of security and protection we give to everyone else whose safety we value.
The sad reality is that more than 90% of mass shootings happen in so-called “gun-free zones.” These locations are not chosen by accident. They are chosen because they are soft targets—places where killers know there will be no armed resistance. That is not compassion; it is negligence disguised as virtue. Legislating a school into being a gun-free zone may make some adults feel morally comforted, but it does nothing to protect your kids.
Caring about kids means protecting them with what works. Every piece of credible research on deterrence tells us the same story: armed resistance stops attacks faster and saves lives. Allowing trained, willing teachers to carry firearms, and stationing armed security officers in every school, is not an act of aggression—it’s an act of responsibility.
The cost? Just 12% of the Department of Education’s annual budget would pay for two armed guards in every public and private K-12 school in America. One penny on the education dollar could save untold lives. If we can afford billions for new programs and bureaucracies, we can afford to protect the children those programs are meant to serve.
The numbers:
- Federal government spending in 2024: $6.75 trillion
- Department of Education spending in 2024: $268.4 billion (3.98% of the federal budget)
- Number of K-12 schools in the US: 128,966
- Cost of two armed guards at every school full-time: 128,966 schools × $250,000 (generous) cost for 2 full-time, armed guards: $32,241,500,000 or 12% of the Department of Education budget.
Fairness means that every child, in every community, deserves the same protection—not just those in wealthy districts or private academies. And caring means we stop pretending that signs and slogans can stop violence. Evil is real. Denial doesn’t defeat it. Preparedness does.
Nobody is proposing that anyone who does not want to handle weapons be required to carry a gun or weapon of any kind. Giving the phenomenal people who do choose to obtain the training to carry the ability so they have the tools to make sure your kids are protected is common sense. Protecting our children with trained, armed defenders is not an extreme position. It’s the most compassionate, fair, and responsible thing a moral society can do. If we truly love our kids, we must give them more than thoughts and prayers. We must give them protection that works.