Just when you think you have heard everything, state Representative Frank Lasee, R–Bellevue, suggests the absurd. Lasee publicized his own solution for the recent surge in school shootings, and it wasn't anything anybody saw coming. It wasn't more education funding or metal detectors, but instead more guns. Yes, one of our state representatives wants teachers and other school administrators to come to school packing heat.

It seems too crazy to even conceive of, but shockingly, it's a real suggestion among many that have been bounced around over the past two weeks, as students across the country wondered if they would make it through the school day alive, and politicians struggled to make sense of a problem tearing away at their constituents.

The issue of school violence hit home last week for Wisconsinites when a student at a high school in Cazenovia — just 40 miles north of Madison — fatally shot and killed his principal. The perpetrator, 15-year-old Eric Hainstock, had a bad family life and was teased by his peers. Just like the teen shooters from the Columbine massacre, Hainstock saw no way out of his seemingly miserable life other than opening fire in one of the places that had caused him so much distress.

So where exactly does Lasee get off suggesting that more guns would be the solution to the violent tendencies of American school children? Had the principal in Cazenovia had a gun, would the situation have ended differently? I imagine that if this were the case, the situation would have had an even worse ending than it actually did.

Lasee's defense for his outlandish and preposterous idea references two other countries that have seen a dramatic decrease in school shootings since allowing school administrations to bring guns to school. The one difference? Both countries use armed faculty members as deterrents against terrorists, not potential gun-toting students.

Teachers in Israel have been allowed to bring guns to school for years to combat Palestinian terrorists entering schools and killing students. Thailand followed suit, also claiming that it was the only way to ward off terrorists infiltrating their schools. Both countries, according to Lasee's press release, have enjoyed "less violence and a safer learning environment for their children." The idea of a sharp shooter lingering among regular teachers and high school students is what, Lasee argues, scares away the terrorists. For some reason, it is hard to believe that for one, terrorists would get scared by gun-flailing teachers attempting to ward them off.

There are so many other ways to address school violence, and Lasee's suggestion seems to overlook all of them. He believes the only "tools" that will successfully prevent violence are weapons themselves.

Perhaps it is time for Lasee to calm down, stop being such an extremist, and give the other options a shot — no pun intended — before resorting to radical suggestions that are sure to only cause more problems.

For one, let's consider improving our education system. Instead of assuming that all children will grow up to be angst-ridden teens, we must trust that with the proper learning environment and good role models, many will be steered in the right direction and away from violent tendencies. In the case of Hainstock, who was attending anger management classes just days before the shooting, his teachers claimed they never suspected he would commit such a crime. Clearly, training for these special education teachers needs to be reevaluated and changed, to ensure that teachers know what traits to recognize as dangerous and how to prevent further violent incidents. Obviously, school safety is not an easy issue to address, and if there was a simple solution, someone would have implemented it by now. There are, however, actions we can take to decrease violence as much as possible, and not encourage it. Lasee's suggestion of permitting guns in schools will only validate the idea for students, and create a double standard that students are sure to revolt against.

Instead of giving up on today's youth, let's reevaluate what drives some of them to become so angry and disillusioned. The right thing is not always the easy thing, so Lasee and other politicians must face the challenge head on, rather than sending students to schools where teachers are stowing pistols next to notebooks.

Emily Friedman ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and legal studies.