4 minute read
Opinion: What's more important? Kids or Guns?
Opinion: What’s more important? Kids or guns?
Seventeen precious lives were lost on February 14, 2018 at Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County Florida. The armed 19 year old, Nikolas Cruz was a former student at the high school who was able to legally buy an AR-15 and kill 17 students. Again, a 19 year old was able to buy a military grade weapon, no questions asked, as that is Florida’s law. People in the state of Florida cannot buy a handgun until they are 21 but they are legally able to buy a semi-automatic rifle (which the AR-15 is considered) at age 18. This has to stop. Although it should have been stopped after Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Virginia Tech, and after any other shooting whether it be in a school or not. There have been 302 school shootings in America, according to Everytown.org, since 2013. There have been 10 deadly mass shootings and out of the 10, six of them the weapon of choice, was the AR-15. How have we not seen this trend and done anything about it? How are people still able to go out and buy these horrible machines? Added on to the guns, there are also accessories that are able to make semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons such as the bump stock. For anyone who is not familiar with these items, semi-automatic weapons have bump fire which allows the gun to fire rapidly. The bump stock allows this rapid fire to be intensified and able to fire even more rapidly similarly to a fully automatic weapon. This is not used for anything other than killing. There is no reason these things should be out for sale, and the fact that a 19 year old who just got out of high school, was able to obtain them is mind-boggling. I am sure that I speak for the majority of students when i say, I do not feel safe at school anymore.
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When asked if he feels safe at school, Jacob O’Neil answered, “...there is always a risk that somebody who doesn’t feel accepted or hates everybody in this school or something and wants
to take it upon themselves to do something about it”. He’s not alone, many others feel the same way.
“I don’t feel safe at school because anyone can come in here with a gun and hurt us. Just because there is administration and cops around doesn’t mean that they still can’t come in” said Taylor Damien, senior at Countryside High School.
Florida legislature has just passed a bill that gives teachers the right to undergo training to carry a gun on school property. Please explain to me how bringing more guns into a school is the proper way to solve the issue of guns in school? Politicians are so concerned with their own pockets that they are literally making it easier for these shootings to happen. What in your right mind would tell you that it is okay, even a good thing, to bring guns into a school where there is always potentially dangerous students? Many teachers and administration at Countryside agree and do not want more guns in the school.
“Absolutely not! I am a strong advocator of not arming our educators” said Mrs. Clausen, assistant principal at Countryside High. Teachers are also upset and do not want to have the burden that carrying a weapon comes with.
“No I do not want to carry a gun!” said Mrs. Parker, biology one teacher.
Although this may seem like a solution, it inevitably will only lead to a further sense of impending danger to the students, once again, making them not feel safe. That is the goal, isn’t it?
All students from elementary school to college, have been thrown into the debate of gun control unwillingly as this is now a universal threat to not just gun owners but the children too. We are now, the generation to be feared because we will not stop until change is brought about. We will continue to fight for this cause until all students feel safe at school where we are meant to be growing not dying.
