School Gun Violence. Free Essay Sample

Criminals have attached educational institutions to kill a mass number of students. A school shooting may occur in primary, secondary, or university schools. The aim of the attackers in a school shooting is to use firearms to create multiple casualties by targeting highly populated places. The United States leads with the number of school-related attacks, although other countries such as Mexico have experienced the same challenges. Different theories have been developed to explain the prevalence of school attacks. The victims' mental illness and family issues are connected with the incidence of school shootings in many countries. Comparing the United States and Mexico will bring to light all the information needed about the school shooting.

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School Gun Violence in America and Mexico

American children are exposed to gunfire violence every school year. School crime has been targeted by the justice system to bring light to the forms of abuse that occur in the school environment. Gereluk et al. define school violence as "the threat or use of physical force to cause physical injury, damage, or intimidation of another person" (2015). The definition is general and does not specify the use of firearms as a form of school violence. One can derive the meaning of gun violence in schools as the uses of firearms by an attacker to cause physical pain; damage is an intimidating school population. Countries have developed strategies that aim at reducing attacks in education institutions (Barrett et al. 2015). Mexico and the United States have developed different approaches. Still, both are aimed at improving the security of the school population by creating laws to guide both the institutions and the citizens.

Every country's primary obligation is to provide information to the community on how they can reduce mass shootings in school. Every town for Gun Safety organization trails gun violence in the United States to give figures that will guide federal and state governments to create policies to curve fatalities recorded through gun violence (Barrett et al. 2015). Gun violence is among the first two causes of youths' death in the United States after motor vehicle accidents. The laws allowing the ownership of guns is the primary reason for the increase of gun shooting to the public and especially in institutions where many individuals gather. Mexico records fewer school shootings than the United States. The cases filed in Mexico reflect the lesser number of fatalities and casualties.

School shooting cases are rare, but they are publicized, drawing a significant impact on the affected areas. Social media and online news are mainly believed to be responsible for the instant spread of information in new school shooting sprees. However, the criminologist has carried out several assessments of school crimes that comprise of application of the ordinary criminological theories in an attempt to explain violent school persecution (Ashley, 2018). The leading causes that were identified included aggressive behaviors among the students, physical attacks, and student access to weapons, sexual assault, and harassment victimization, and threats from even fellow students at school. At the end of January 2009, America had registered over 288 cases, whereas Mexico had only 8 cases (Lloyd, 2019). The cases are escalating in the United States of America, whereas in Mexico, the situation is a bit regulated.

School shooting, according to Laura (2014), is caused by excessive violent TV programs, violent games, and internet programs. Attacks that are conducted by students are mostly motivated by peer pressure and need to be accepted and appreciated by particular groups. Other contributors to school violence include the location of the schools and the policies created by these institutions. Institutions in rural areas have higher risks of school violence due to weak policies and lack of exposure and knowledge on effective regulations. The United States has recorded higher rates of gun shootings in rural areas. Mexico, having recorded low school shootings, has challenges determining whether the urban centers or the rural school are more prone to school shootings. Attacks in Mexico are conducted more by fellow students compared to external strangers. Students who commit mass shootings are influenced by family issues or mental illness.

Mexico has managed to control the situation by establishing a very restrictive background inspection when it comes to guns purchase and licenses; However, gun-related school crimes are well organized; the situation has managed to reduce the number of cases reported (Lloyd, 2019). Most of the weapons used in crimes are due to a lack of federal regulation from outside Mexico. In the United States, if there is well-based gun reform legislation, it would help to control the situation and at least make a difference. Different Countries that have already enacted the background check, permits, and licenses have recorded a decline in average harm that was gun rerated not only in schools but also in the entire country. The supply of weapons in the country contributes a lot to criminal activities; the more the guns owned by citizens, the higher the number of crimes reported (Raitanen, & Oksanen, 2019). Therefore accessibility of weapon is the main contribution to the organization that generates school-based mass massacre attacks, mass murder assault, and gun control legislation is not efficient at plummeting attracts that engage other weaponry.

Effectiveness of the gun laws in the United States on reducing gun violence, in general, is already faced with different challenges. Ban of certain guns varies from state to state; if one needs a weapon that is banned within a certain, they will go to the nearby state where the firearm is allowed and purchase them. Mexico gun laws apply to all citizens with the country making it hard for a Mexican citizen to acquire illegal weapons within the states (Raitanen, & Oksanen, 2019). In Mexico, license records are well followed when issuing licenses to citizens, whereas in America, most of the activities are crippled like background checks due to deficient of orderly record maintenance of those in controlled psychological health and criminal group. Again secret sellers can illegally trade weapons to citizens with no permit; this can be done during the "gun show." Although various states require background prove to be carried out for personal sellers, these traders are not federally controlled.

According to Agnich (2014), online school communities have an unutilized perspective in the control of school execution. Most of the school shooters' behavior is that they disclose information concerning their alleged attacks. Due to the online society "fans," it is likely that the shooters will reveal some data online. Because several people sincerely concerned in school shooting do not support the violent behavior of the shootings, and they wish they could have barred the occurrence of the same. Once we come across leaked information concerning a planned attract, we should give information to the school shooting community members some hint and strategies to deal with alarming information they come across online.

Countries have created policies and procedures that are geared towards reducing the rate of gun violence experienced in schools. Gereluk et al. (2015), argues that schools and governments have responded differently to school shooting due to the spectrum that surrounds the circumstances. In Canada, gun control laws have restricted and increased regulations for owning firearms. The United States and Mexico can adopt such policies to curve school shootings. The schools should take the priority of regulating visitors, volunteers, and limiting school access by outsiders. The relationships between students and teachers should be improved to influence communication. Effective communication will help attackers who are psychologically ill access care rather than turn into criminals. Institutions in Mexico and the United States can offer principles of justice and reasonableness to identify, understand, and resolve disagreements in families, society, and educational institutions. Policies like these will make every individual feel free and equal to others.

In conclusion, gun violence in schools has become a significant call for increased security measures across all learning facilities. To come up with an effective response to gun violence in school and to increase the level of security in schools, we suggest that standard care should be provided that caters to the needs of all students. We also advocate for cautious and determined discussions based on the single realistic, education, public, political, and background situation of individual schools and their nearby communities. Gun violence in school response should be a continuous reassessment of the security measures currently in place and of whether such measures meet the needs of the students. At the same time, online school shooting communities should cooperate with authorities and provide any available vital information to help curb this menace.

References

Agnich, L. (2014). A Comparative Analysis of Attempted and Completed School-Based Mass Murder Attacks. American Journal Of Criminal Justice, 40(1), 1-22. http://doi.10.1007/s12103-014-9239-5

Ashley, H. (2018). Teacher Perceptions of School Gun Violence. Dissertation, 17, 2-19.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12665730

Barrett, K., Lynch, M., & Stretesky, P. (2015). Green Criminology and the Reconceptualization of School Violence: Comparing Green School Violence and Traditional Forms of School Violence for School Children. Critical Criminology, 24(1), 19-37. http://doi.10.1007/s10612-015-9280-9

Gereluk, D., Kent Donlevy, J., & Thompson, M. (2015). Normative Considerations in the Aftermath of Gun Violence in Schools. Educational Theory, 65(4), 459-474. http://doi.10.1111/edth.1212

Lloyd, K. (2019). School Gun Violence in The United States. Journal of School Health, 90, 1-9https://everytownresearch.org/gunfire-in-school

Raitanen, J., & Oksanen, A. (2019). Deep interest in school shootings and online radicalization. Journal Of Threat Assessment And Management, 6(3-4), 159-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000127