Today's job is a bit of a grown-up blog, but it touches on the recent events here in Germany.
School safety was a MAJOR part of my job as the front desk secretary at BHES. I took it very seriously, but I also took a lot of flack about it. Many parents and relatives that visited the school indicated how unwelcoming and unfriendly it was not to be able to walk into the school. I smiled and nodded, but then I tried to help them understand just how important this subject is. I also had those parents who were so grateful that they could have extra peace of mind that we were doing everything possible to protect their very precious children.
Yesterday, here in Germany in a town that is about 2 hours north of us, that moment of truth happened for a junior high school. A former student entered the building and began shooting teachers and students at the school. The classes that he managed to enter were 8th grade classes. This hits home in that my son is the same age as those children that were lost yesterday.
Dorchester District 2 had extreme measures devoted to school safety. Not all schools or even districts take such precautions for their schools, but unfortunately more and more schools are having to take similar measures. Here in Germany, the idea of school safety is just so new of an idea. Guns and gun use is very uncommon here. For people to have guns in their homes is unlikely, and gun crimes are significantly lower per capita than in the US. Also, the schools are often buildings that have been used for hundreds of years. We complain about the age of our schools in the US - 50 years or so, but here, literally, they could be buildings from the 1500s!! Structurally, they are stable, safe buildings, but in terms of keeping people out, they just aren't designed that way.
In both of my children's schools, one which is newer (built in stages between 1965 and 1971) as well as the other school, with the building date at least 100 years old (I can't find anything definitive on its construction more than 103 years back), the schools have the secretary and principal (called a Director here) on the 2nd floor down a winding hallway. In both schools, there are also no automatic locks on the front doors and no monitors of the halls. I go straight to my child's class without ever stopping in to see the office. As a matter of fact, the front office door, which is solid and can't be seen through, is closed, and you must knock before entering. When we first arrived, I was so surprised by this, it took me aback a little. I discussed it with the other German parents I had met who thought what we did in the states reflected how violent our society was. (It is worth noting that because of American TV crime shows and crime coverage on international news organizations, many foreigners are quite concerned about the crime in the US in terms of visiting it and believe it to be somewhat out of control. Given our experiences in the last two years in our neighborhood back in South Carolina, I am not entirely sure that this assessment isn't the right one these days.) But this debate has been coming to Germany in the last few years as well. And the incidents of yesterday have brought it again to the forefront. I think many Germans still feel that this might be only a bigger city problem if there is a problem at all, but the small town affected yesterday may change that view.
Regardless, though, of all the efforts or lack of them, if a student of the school were to decide to harm fellow students and teachers, even in Dorchester District 2 with all their measures to protect the children, not much could be done to protect the children. Columbine is a perfect example of this. Debates still rage in our country and now again in Germany over how to prevent gun crimes, particularly involving youth. It is a touchy subject and one that should be debated carefully. Gun control advocates still protest that it is for protection, yet the stories we hear about in the news all involve guns that were in the home and in most cases legally bought.
So what should or can we do? Do we just throw up our hands and shake our heads? I think that some coming to the center on this issue is necessary to make any improvements. I think it is ridiculous to restrict guns to every person, but I do think some concessions also have to be made by the gun organizations, as well. In addition to tighter scrutiny on gun purchases, I think there should be required safety classes of the owners when there are children present in the home. I think there is also an entirely missing portion of this equation that no one seems to want to address - educating parents about the dangers of violent images on young children (I grew up with a strong aversion to what was on TV in our own home that my younger brother saw) and educating parents and adults who have contact with children on how to spot those tell-tale warning signs in children at younger ages to prevent them from becoming a youth who might do such an act. Obviously there is something wrong in the lives of these youths who feel their only outlet of their rage before hurting themselves is to kill those around them. I think it is also what helps drive youth to drugs. It is a vague and nebulous task to tackle, I admit, and perhaps the best way to approach it is with parental education classes starting from pregnancy - afterall, there are fishing licenses, driver's licenses, hunting licenses, even marriage licenses, but no child rearing licenses.
Below are some facts and comparisons of gun law and crimes from Germany and the US.
Originally, after World War I, German gun laws were extremely strict. Anyone who had an actual weapon or ammunition for a weapon could be imprisoned for 5 years and fined 100,000 DM which was huge amounts of money for the day. By 1928, these laws relaxed a bit to allow possessions but with many permit restrictions. By 1938, this was relaxed even further to remove the ammunition portion and as for the weapons, to only apply to handguns. Many of the population were now also exempt entirely from the restrictions - those belonging to the Nazi party being one of those groups; however, Jewish people were still held to the laws prior to 1928. Age limits did still apply to all permitted groups, though. After World War II, Germany again had to disarm as part of the war restrictions placed upon Germany. This included police officers.
The current law, The German Weapon Law, that was enacted in 1972 replaced the former laws and is one of the strictest in Europe. It restricts the types of weapons that can be owned and legally circulated and requires an intensive licensing process before a gun can be purchased. The legal age to own a gun for recreational uses is 21 - up from 18 in 2002 as a result of an earlier school shooting. In 2010, all of the EU countries are to adopt a measure that also restricts gun ownership to those over 18 who have been deemed fit to own it - not a threat to public safety (no prior mental health issues, no drug or alcohol abuse, and no prior known violent tendencies). In the states, a step towards this restriction was signed into law in Virginia when it added to the rejection database on gun approval those who had been court ordered to receive mental health treatment. For the German licenses, also mandatory classes and proficiency tests have to be passed before the license will be granted. Even within the army, guns and ammunition distributions are very limited.
South Carolina gun laws also are very restrictive on both the types of guns and ages of gun owners; however, the laws have been written, it would seem, to provide opportunity for exceptions. Children can have guns if they are under the supervision of a parent. Certain weapons can be sold if deemed antique. And no special permit is required to carry a loaded handgun in the console of a car. The information is lengthy and a bit confusing to read. If you are interested in looking further into South Carolina law, I would recommend you read the SLED laws at http://www.sled.sc.gov/SCStateGunLaws1.aspx?MenuID=CWP.
The United States ranks #8 on the list of gun crimes per 1000 and #4 in murders with firearms with totals of 9369 compared to Germany, who ranks #11 with gun crimes but with only 269 murders with firearms based on a United Nations survey.
I know the old debate - it is people who commit crimes, not guns. And I know that this debate will rage for ages to come, but that doesn't stop me from wondering what could cause such a terrible act in someone so young - and how could it have been prevented.
The word for today is weapon: die Waffe (waff eh).
The question for tomorrow is "Which famous genius celebrates a birthday this weekend?"
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
