Passed in 2022, Bill 99 states that it’s now legal for teachers to carry guns in classrooms and schools in Ohio. 

While some parents and citizens argue it helps protect children, others say it allows more access to weapons in schools, creating more violence.

“You put these weapons closer to children, closer to people who may want to do harm,” parent Kevin Wallace said, according to WLWT News.

There are better ways to aid gun violence than by adding more guns. 

Teacher and candidate for Ohio House District 46, Mulligan, believes this as well; according to WLW News Mulligan said, “There are school security issues including funding for more training for more resource officers, addressing mental health issues in our students and in our communities and ending the stigma around mental illness and talking about mental health.” 

Creating more non-violent resources is the best way to combat a violence problem, not by adding more violence. This is especially true when other significant factors play a role in the act. 

According to Counseling, when trying to decipher a potential shooter, “Many of [them] wrote cryptic messages, engaged in behaviors that caused others concern or indicated a need for help, or disclosed to peers that they experienced loneliness or anger prior to the attack (Lee, 2013).”

Students’ mental health has drastically declined, and school shootings inversely correlate; increasing as mental health decreases. Therefore, the root of the problem is within the student’s mind and behavior, so focusing on mental health is much more beneficial than adding more guns.