Schools across the country have been affected by our lenient gun laws for years. Shootings at schools have skyrocketed from 2020 to now. So far, this year alone, there have been 198 shooting incidents in public schools. In 2020, there were 120 school shootings that swept across the nation. Our gun laws are so flexible that, in some states, the legal age to purchase a long gun (which includes an assault rifle) is 18 years old. In a few months, I would be able to purchase one if I wanted to. Isn’t it concerning to think that some students can legally buy an assault rifle? But it’s for “safety,” right?
The public school system is the #1 spot for kids to be exposed to explicit and illegal activities. Especially in schools where drugs, fights, and sexual harassment occur frequently, which could lead to a student wanting to harm other students. Not to mention the dangerously low requirement to buy and resell firearms to children. A big problem is also the schools themselves and their procedures concerning these violent accounts. There was a case in Virginia, where a 6-year-old kid had been threatening to bring a gun to school to shoot his teacher and actually went through with it. His classmates had even gone to other teachers and reported the alleged threats, but no adults gave a second thought about it though. This happened on January 6th of this year. Yes, the administration should’ve taken the appropriate actions in this situation, but also where could a child be able to find a 9 mm handgun in his school bag? From his parents. His parents have spoken out about practicing securing their gun, but their child had still been able to get a hold of the gun. What would drive a child to think that he should bring a gun to school, shoot his teacher, and ultimately kill her? The exposure of having a gun in homes has a huge impact on a child. Having knowledge about what weapons are at a young age is a triggering aspect for a kid to comprehend. Our gun laws should be prohibiting families, especially ones with little kids, from openly carrying guns of any sort when kids are still impressionable and don’t quite understand the consequences of their actions.
A classmate of mine, Senior Adam Urbina, had an intense opinion on the matter. I asked him if he felt safe knowing that any of our seniors, who were 18 or older, could possibly purchase a gun. He answered, “Even just knowing how easy it is for any kid, whether they’re 18 or not, to get a gun is scary. Sometimes I think maybe this is the day. It’s not really a matter of if, but when.” Which is true. When will our school system fail to keep us protected? We’re an outside school, and we have a public website where anyone can look up the map of the school and bell schedule. It’s scary knowing all that information is available and easily accessible to anyone.
