On Sunday, October 6, 2013, the Dallas News published an article titled Do we need a stand-your-ground law for schools? I thought it was a very interesting article because I wonder what would have happened if such a terrible shooting event happened in Texas. This article was written towards the parents, the students, professors, and everyone else who wants extra security in their lives. I believe that this columnist can be trusted as she has skills in many areas such as journalism, ghostwriting, public speaking, etc. Also the columnist, Esther Cepeda, has written and edited everything from website copy to marketing assets, blog posts, speeches and thought leadership pieces for company executives.
I am always heartbroken whenever I hear about a shooting especially when the shooting takes place in schools. I can not even imagine what it would be like to go through that. The last major shooting event occurred in Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. This shooting was the second event I have heard of after the shooting that happened in Virginia Tech University back in 2007. I really don't know why these events happen nor why the innocent are the ones that go through these hardships. Again, if such an event like shooting happened to ACC I go to everyday, I would not know what to do. I have lived in texas about 5years now and yes, I have heard the phrase that Texas is full of guns everywhere. However, I have never seen nor even touched a real gun in my life. I am not even interested in seeing or touching the guns soon. The columnist, Esther Cepeda, did not directly answer whether she supports the stand-your-ground law for schools or not. But it seemed like she was leaning toward supporting it since she said "it's reasonable to at least debate whether to offer some legal refuge to teachers and staff members who make the decision to protect others from a perceived threat." Also, her evidence that made her write this piece is "an article about an Indiana proposal to expand the castle-doctrine-law - that state's stand-your-ground law - to school grounds, to protect any person who might resort to deadly force to prevent a school massacre." The columnist even "suggested that such a topic at least merited a level-headed conversation." Whether the columnist agrees or not, I fully agree that schools should have a stand-your-ground law. I believe that extra knowledge for professors and staffs could never hurt anyone when saving others' lives. This article was worth reading because it refreshened me how tragic it was for the Sandy Hook Elementary school students and because it taught me a new word: stand-your-ground law. I learned that it is a law that allows people to stand their ground instead of running away if they reasonably believe that doing so will prevent deaths for themselves or others. Also, I learned how important it is to have a good security not just for myself, but to others. I think it is about time we pass the stand-your-ground law for schools in Texas before anything tragic happens.