When will enough be enough? Since January of 2018, over 70 school shootings have occurred (Wikipedia). More needs to be done to make school a safe place.
According to CNN, 45 school shootings took place in the first 46 weeks of this year. That’s roughly one school shooting a week; that is unacceptable.
As a student who attends a school where a shooting took place, I admit I’ve sometimes felt uncomfortable and fearful. Since my Freshman year, certain circumstances have caused panic, from the Clown Epidemic, to bomb threats, and more recently, the power shutting off on Halloween. In all of those instances, I felt panicked, worried that my school would be next to make headlines.
America is the leading country in mass school shootings when compared with countries such as Canada, Germany, and the UK (CNN). Politicians show little appetite for reform in order to prevent future school shootings. Australia and New Zealand bear strict gun laws and regulations, such as banning semi-automatic rifles and requiring potential buyers to take a gun safety course. With this course of action, those countries have seen fewer school shootings than the U.S (Business Insider).
If America follows the lead of other countries, the rate of school shootings would decrease. In Australia, according to Wikipedia, to possess or use a firearm one must have a firearm license and demonstrate a genuine reason (not including self defense). All firearms must be registered to the owner.
Politicians need to change gun laws in America now, or more people will suffer. By revising gun laws, the 2nd amendment is kept intact, but people who aren’t mentally stable or have a genuine reason to own a gun won’t have access to obtain a gun. Some may argue that they are still illegal ways to obtain a gun, but with stricter laws, the amount of guns bought and sold will decrease, but laws will crack down on who owns guns and how many. People who want gun reform don’t want to take away the 2nd amendment, but only make it more difficult for the unfit to have access.
School was built for growing and learning. It is unfair and wrong to have no real change in gun laws and allow more schools to fall victim to shootings. There is a simple solution: gun reform.
To keep our schools safe, politicians need to act. It is time to step up and take action. Gun reform needs to happen and it needs to happen now in order to protect the millions of innocent children in schools.
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