Poll Shows Parents Scared About Gun Violence in School And So Are Their School-aged Kids

gun violence Uvalde Shooting

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Jun 06, 12:14 pm

The spate of gun violence in the United States seems to be taking its toll on parents and kids alike. Parents are becoming more concerned about the safety of their children in schools and report feeling stressed, scared and angry. Many of them report that their kids are feeling the same thing as well, according to a poll by CBS News.

Parents on both sides of the gun control debate express concern about their kids' safety. Three in four parents of school-aged children are at least somewhat concerned about the possibility of gun violence happening at the school of their children, including one in three parents who are very concerned.

Large majorities of parents report feeling scared, nervous, sad, and stressed after seeing or hearing about the school shooting that transpired in Uvalde, Texas. Two in three parents say they are angry about the latest shooting incident.

Children are also worried about gun violence

And it is not just the parents who are concerned with gun violence in the United States. Most parents say their kids are also worried. More than half of parents say their school-aged children sometimes worry about gun violence while attending their respective schools, including more than a quarter who say they worry about it a lot.

Most parents have talked to their school-aged children about gun violence in the aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and many kids report feeling many of the same emotions that their parents feel. Majorities of parents say their kids have felt sadness, while half are nervous, scared, angry, or stressed after hearing or seeing about the Texas shooting.

Parents favor active policies in their children's schools to try to mitigate the risk from school shootings. Large majorities favor having armed security guards or police in their children's schools, as well as practicing lockdowns and active shooter drills for staff and students, measures that find support across partisan lines.

According to a new ABC/Ipsos poll, seven out of ten Americans said that new legislation reducing gun violence should be prioritized over protecting gun rights amid a particularly deadly string of mass shootings in the United States.

Majority of parents favor allowing teachers to carry guns in school

More than half of parents also favor allowing school officials and teachers to carry guns, a measure that finds favor with almost all Republican parents and most independents. Most Democratic parents disagree with this proposal, though four in 10 would also like to see this happen in the future.

The CBS News poll was conducted during the period of June 1 to 3, 2022, one week after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos fatally shot 19 students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen other people, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Before going on a shooting spree in the school, Ramos shot his grandmother in the forehead at home, severely wounding her.

According to the Texas Tribune, the 21 victims of the Uvalde school shooting are Makenna Lee Elrod, 10; Layla Salazar, 11; Maranda Mathis, 11; Nevaeh Bravo, 10; Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10; Xavier Lopez, 10; Tess Marie Mata, 10; Rojelio Torres, 10; Eliahna "Ellie" Amyah Garcia, 9; Eliahna A. Torres, 10; Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10; Jackie Cazares, 9; Uziyah Garcia; Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10; Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10; Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10; Irma Garcia, 48; Eva Mireles, 44; Amerie Jo Garza, 10; Alexandria "Lexi" Aniyah Rubio, 10; Alithia Ramirez, 10.