I have seen this map floating around on the internet stating that there have been 18 school shootings so far this year. Actually that map is misleading.

If we define a “School Shooting” as an incident where someone shoots random victims on school grounds (like Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Parkland), then there have only been three school shootings this year. That’s still three too many, but not the 18 pictured above. The “school shooting” in Maplewood, MN on that map was a police officer’s gun accidentally firing. The one in Arizona was a student committing suicide. Alone. Of the three shootings that were “school shootings”, the one in Louisiana saw nobody killed or even injured by gunfire.

That leaves us with two: Benton, Kentucky and Parkland, Florida.

Nineteen dead from these two shooters, and countless other people traumatized, some for life.

Here’s my idea:

1. Pass a law that if a person commits first degree murder on school property they automatically get the death penalty.
2. Get rid of the “gun free zones” policies entirely. Pass legislation stating that people who hold a license to carry a firearm may not be barred from carrying in any building.
3. Train teachers on a volunteer basis to handle firearms and train them to be prepared in the eventuality that they may be called on to defend their students. And have the taxpayers of their district buy them a firearm.

I firmly believe that these things would disincentivize shooters to the extent that school shootings would by and large go away. There would still be shootings, but with far fewer victims and the shooters would be held accountable via the death penalty.

So what do you all think?  I welcome honest opinions and real solutions, even ideas I disagree with, but comments with profanity or insults will not be allowed.