A CNN panel discussion on gun regulation quickly delved into chaos after a pro-guns teen suggested arming more people in schools and having more armed officers. A student from Parkland, Fla. fiercely disagreed, however, quashing the notion that more guns equals better safety for students.
Parkland student Julia Bishop, who was among the panel of teens, argued that filling the halls with more armed guards would just make school feel like a prison.
“How do you think you stop someone from shooting people?” Louisiana student Jacob Scott said, challenging Bishop. ” … If everyday students have the right to carry, he (the Parkland shooter) could’ve been stopped altogether.”
“Even if someone is trained like Officer Peterson at my school, there’s no way to simulate an event like this,” Bishop responded. “There’s no possible way to practice or do an active shooter drill. He had high-capacity magazines, a semi-automatic weapon and killed 17 of my classmates in six minutes! Don’t tell me a handgun could’ve stopped that!”
More than a month after the deadly shooting, Bishop said she still does not feel safe at Stoneman Douglas High, despite the increased police presence. Her suggestion? An all-out ban on assault-style weapons.
All the teens agreed on implementing better background checks and at least some form of regulations for assault weapons, but Arizona student Parker Delmoe argued the regulations wouldn’t make much of a difference.
“I mean, if you look at the Las Vegas shooter, he was perfectly legal to get a gun,” Delmoe said. “Nobody knew he was going to …”
He was quickly cut off by his fellow panelists who explained that’s exactly the point they were trying to make.
“Exactly,” Bishop said. “That’s why you cut it off at the source.”
Watch more of the discussion above.
