Florida: Protect campuses with strong gun safety legislation | Opinion – Tallahassee Democrat

Over the past 24 years, I’ve loved being a teacher. As an English and journalism teacher, I’m honored to help students find their voice to speak truth and inspire change. 
It hasn’t always been easy, especially with the threat of gun violence looming over our heads. When I began, I never imagined I’d have to put my safety at risk for the sake of my classroom. 
With the scourge of gun violence threatening the safety of children, all teachers are at risk of life-altering trauma, forced to protect their students in the midst of imminent danger and, in the aftermath, grapple with the fallout of a traumatic event. 
Being a teacher during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, I was forced into the survivor club. Eight years later, I am still understanding the ways in which gun violence has affected me and my community. 
My personal experience inspired me to work with Abbey Clements and Sari Beth Rosenberg to create Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. I’m lucky to be a part of our national crisis support team, a one-of-a-kind network led by fellow survivors. Together, we provide support for teacher survivors of gun violence in their journey healing after tragedy. 
There’s simply no replacement for peer to peer mentorship. Fellow survivors can sympathize with the complexities and depth of trauma after gun violence. It’s unfortunate that so many of us can relate to one another’s worst moments and it’s unfair that teachers are forced to put their lives on the line. 
This Teacher Appreciation Week, Florida can take action and put an end to the public health crisis of gun violence by addressing our lax gun laws. Gun violence was the 2nd leading cause of death for children in Florida, resulting in 132 deaths in 2023 alone. 
I am especially saddened when I think about the year since the shooting at Florida State University in April 2025, which took the lives of two, injured six and traumatized another entire community. In the year since, the FSU community has rallied for common sense gun legislation. Yet, our government has only expanded gun rights, including allowing concealed carry on college campuses.
We know that two-thirds of school shootings take place because a student has access to an unlocked gun in the home and 4.6 million kids around the country are living in homes with unsecured firearms. So why create even more access to deadly weapons that risk the safety of all students and teachers? 
Dangerous policies like arming teachers bring more weapons to campuses, further risking the safety of students and teachers. Studies show that arming teachers provides another instance where students can gain access to an unsecured firearm. 
Florida is one of the 26 states that requires gun owners to safely store their firearms. Yet, safe storage laws in the state only require loaded firearms to be stored securely, meaning unloaded firearms are free to be within reach of children who can then access ammunition.
Florida must strengthen regulations and further institute policies that make the regulations widely known and understood. Adopting non-partisan laws like “Safe Homes, Safe Schools Law” from Michigan, which requires yearly education for parents and guardians on safe gun storage, could go a long way in protecting our school communities from gun violence. 
For now, Florida’s blatant disregard for our students and teachers’ well-being puts us all at risk. Our lawmakers need to listen to the calls for reform and learn from the states leading the way toward gun violence prevention.
This is the only way to prevent the next tragedy. Teachers, students and communities are watching.
Sarah Lerner is co-founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence and member of the board of directors. She is a teacher-survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018.
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