Metal detectors and secured points of entry are needed in each public school immediately. It is beyond time to do something. We must intercept weapons before they enter our campuses or lives will continue to be at risk. In the very least, our children, teachers, and staff deserve a safe environment to learn and work in.

Since the Columbine shooting in 1999, there have been 157 children, educators and other people that have been killed in assaults at schools, and another 351 have been injured. The most recent tragedy at Oxford High School in Michigan claimed 4 innocent lives and left 7 injured. Enough is enough. We must call our public officials into action. We cannot wait for another tragedy to occur.

Metal detectors would have thwarted most of the incidents at schools — including the incident at Oxford High. For all of the naysayers who say metal detectors at entry points “don’t work,” I encourage those same people to consider stripping metal detectors from airports, courthouses, government buildings, theme parks, etc. The metal detectors are in those places for a reason — because they work, because they ensure safety. Yes, there will still continue to be incidents outside of secured places, but minds can be more at ease while inside. Metal detectors are not a cure-all solution — they are a starting point.

I ask government officials — would you feel safe at work and be able to focus at your job if metal detectors were taken out of your building? Would you feel safe at the airport without the metal detectors? Or would you be on alert? Is this fear-driven environment what you want our children and teachers subjected to? Why are we having schools run “active shooter drills” (traumatizing in itself as it acknowledges a very real threat) instead of preventing the guns from entering the building to begin with? I reiterate, metal detectors and secured points of entry are needed in each K-12 public school immediately. We must act swiftly before another tragedy occurs.