The point of research for this paper is to assess the issue of whether or not teachers should be able to have a gun in the classroom. Gun control is a heated issue of our time, especially in this presidential election season. The topic of gun control has become increasingly heated and controversial in light of the recent terror attacks and school shootings. The area of the issue of gun control I desire to research is the question of whether arming a teacher with a gun will save the lives of students and fellow staff members. I am interested in this question because gun control and school shootings are heated issues of our time and appropriate measures should be taken in order to maintain a safe environment in the schools. This research questions reflects my values because I believe in self-defense. If someone were to attack me, I feel that it is my duty to protect those around me and myself. I was taught to defend my self at an early age, whether it is defending myself physically, or defending my values. As a graduate from a high school in a rural area, my teachers taught the class that we must defend ourselves from harm. In light of the shootings at Sandy Hook in 2012, my teachers made proposals that if they were to have a gun in the classroom, it would save more lives instead of hiring multiple officers walking the halls of the school. I feel qualified to write about this issue because I follow the issue of gun control and from my experiences in high school, I feel that this argument will able to be persuasive.

An article from a local newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona released an article recently that a local school district instituted a resolution arming teachers with guns in the school building. The school district believes that arming teachers will fill in the gap in the security measures to keep students, faculty, and staff safe. According to the article, the teachers must go through training sessions before they are allowed to carry. The key stakeholders from the article are the school district and the faculty and staff at the school because they must come up with a way to keep the weapon hidden from the students. The main value at stake is the value of self-defense because the teachers are trained to defend themselves in order for them to carry, and they have responsibility of the students' safety. The source is credible because it comes from the local newspaper from the town where that policy is implemented. It did not talk about the opposing side, only the side in favor.

An article from The Huffington Post is about a local school in the rural parts of Colorado implementing a policy of arming teachers with guns for self-defense. The article was released months after the Sandy Hook shooting. Colorado is also the site of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. They believe that arming teachers will be more effective in saving students' lives instead of hiring one or more security officers to walk the halls of the school, and also, they cannot afford to hire an armed officer. Again, the school district and its values are at stake because they are responsible for keeping the students safe during the school day; it is their duty that the school buildings are kept secure from harm. The Huffington Post is a credible source because it is a well-known online newspaper. It also talks about other states implementing similar policies. 

Another article from a local newspaper in Connecticut talks about another local school district debating whether teachers should be armed. The pros and cons were laid out at a board meeting. Some teachers were in favor, and some were opposed to it. They also proposed a training session that will properly train teachers how to defend themselves if an attack were to happen. The police officers and the school district members are at stake because they must find measures to keep the students safe, whether is to hire more security officers, or properly arm the teachers with guns in order to protect students during an attack until the police arrives to address the situation. This source is credible because the newspaper is from Connecticut, which is where the school is. This source is not skewed toward a particular side because they interviewed proponents of the issue, as well as opponents of the issue. 

This research question can be arguable because the issue of gun control and the issue of whether to arm a teacher with a gun because it is a heated topic. There are many people who support this issue, as well as many people who are against it. Many sources I found support the measure to arm a teacher with a gun instead of hiring more security officers. In order to make this research question more argumentative, I must find more sources that are opposed to the idea of arming teachers with guns in the classroom. Finding perspectives different than my own relating to this issues allows me to see where the other side comes from, and I will learn why the other side is opposed to arming teachers with guns, seeing that they're just as passionate about this issue as me. In order to make this research question more effective and efficient, certain revisions must be made. I think if I find more sources that are opposed to my research question, and finding a less broad way to address this question, this paper will be more persuasive.

