今年美國校園槍擊案頻繁發生﹐2018年至今平均5天就有一起校園槍擊案發生﹐學生紛紛走上街頭,呼籲政府槍枝管制﹐由於美國槍枝已達氾濫且無法控管的程度﹐一向是擁槍權和NRA的支持者的川普在面對輿論的壓力下也下令宣布修法﹐但是在美國要能取得槍枝並不是件很困難的事﹐即使是未成年也可在不合法的店家或者網路取得﹐且家家戶戶都有一把槍﹐槍枝是否還真能有效控管？校園槍擊案是否會減少？

美國發生這麼多起校園槍擊案﹐除了槍枝控管之外﹐政府更需注意校園霸凌。

統計顯示﹐美國中、小學有三分之一的人曾被霸凌﹐每年人數高達一千三百萬﹐就連美國總統歐巴馬幼時也曾是受害者。

美國過去25年中的37起校園槍擊案中﹐有三分之二的攻擊者﹐曾經都是校園霸凌的受害者﹐不外乎是關係霸凌、言語霸凌、肢體霸凌、反罷型霸凌及近期最盛行的網路霸凌﹐長期受到霸凌的受害者﹐往往會有自殺或反報應型等極端暴力行為。

霸凌﹐是兒童人格不成熟與教育的問題﹐預防校園霸凌﹐老師是關鍵人物。

老師應當是教導及傳授知識的角色﹐而不是將老師訓練成警察﹐當學生對於同學認知上有偏見及歧視應給予人權、教育﹐使其理解認知的盲點﹐並對於被霸凌者更多關懷﹐避免憾事一次又一次的發生。

川普對於預防校園槍擊案的提議

◎擴大背景檢查

  • 改善禁買槍枝的資料庫，鼓勵聯邦單位和州政府上傳更多資料。提議在網路和槍枝展覽購槍，也須有背景檢查

◎年齡限制

  • 將購買槍枝的年齡限制從18歲以上調高到21歲以上

◎加強校方偵測威脅

  • 立法提供預算，訓練校方處理暴力警訊和匿名線報，加強校園安全

◎禁止撞火槍托

  • 立法限制販售可讓半自動步槍連發的「撞火槍托

◎教師攜武

  • 提議訓練部分老師和教職員攜帶隱藏式的槍枝，認為這是保護學生最有效的方法

This year, 2018, has seen an out of control spike in gun attacks in schools, averaging one attack every five days. It has resulted in students out on the streets, marching for gun control, but because of the gun culture in America and the political system, at this point, perhaps there is little that can be done.

There is pressure from the the gun rights group, the NRA, supported by Trump, to maintain the status quo of loose gun sales, but also pressure from the public to change gun laws. In America, buying a gun while underage is as easy as finding a non-regulated seller, or a private party online. Not helping matters is the fact that a near majority of households possess firearms, making the potential market for third party sales very large. With this in mind, how is it possible to construct an effective regulation that covers such gaping loopholes? Is it possible to reduce school shootings when nearly every house has a gun that kids can get access to?

Another major piece of this puzzle is addressing school bullying. Certain schoolplaces not only maintain a culture of aggression and retaliation, but may provide the impetus for some killings. Statistics indicate that 31% of American elementary and middle school students are victims of bullying, totalling about 13 million kids. Even former US President Obama was a victim as a child. Out of 37 school shootings in the past 25 years, 32% were past victims of bullying. New forms of bullying are not limited to verbal or physical bullying, but also encompass online bullying. It can be invasive, long term, and consume home and private life, even out of school. This incessant pressure can cause students to commit suicide, or even commit acts of violence against their aggressors.

Bullying is a problem of immaturity, but also reflects the education system and culture. Teachers have a responsibility to lead their students and protect the weak amongst them, while educating, and this is no small task. It is not, however, the responsibility of teachers to become armed police. Students need also to be accountable for their actions when they discriminate or disrespect their peers. Without turning schools into places of violence and punishment, bullying should be stopped and treated as serious, and the teachers should not allow victims’ emotional wounds to fester into hate. If the violent impulse and culture of hatred is stopped, perhaps it can prevent the interminable deaths of students.

Trump’s stated ideas for combatting school violence

  • Expanded background checks for buyers
    • Improving the database of those who should be restricted from gun purchases
    • Improve sharing of state and US federal criminal data
    • Mandate background checks for private online and gun show purchases
  • Age restrictions
    • Raise the federal age for firearms purchase from 18 to 21
  • Improve school responses to threats of violence
    • Congress has suggested improving school security and training of officials to deal with threats, including anonymous ones
  • Banning bumpstocks
    • Congress has suggested banning the tool used to allow semi-automatic weapons to fire a continuous volley with one trigger press
  • Arming teachers
    • Allowing a portion of teachers to receive training, and permit them to carry concealed weapons. Trump views this as the most effective policy.

Staff writer: Kristy Chen

Photo credit: Sebastián León Prado