By Jackie Tang
On February 14th, 17 people were killed in the Parkland mass school shooting in Florida, and only weeks after, the survivors are still terrified to return to school. Now, due to the aftermath of the Florida shooting, many of us have started to realize just how ineffective gun control really is now.
Gun control has been a major issue ever since the formation of the NRA or National Rifle Association, and the recent school shootings have only made it worse. The 1999 Columbine school shootings was the first to instil that fear into people, and at least 150 thousand people attending 170 schools have experienced a school shooting since, as reported by The Washington Post. Many have blamed the school shootings on the exploitation of the 2nd Amendment, which states that the American people have the right to bear arms or form a militia for the security of a free state, or perhaps the gun restrictions are not enough.
We should also realize the fact that technology wasn’t the same as it is now than it was 227 years ago. The 2nd amendment was established during the late 18th century in december 1791, for the purpose of us to have the right to bear arms and form a well regulated militia to protect the country. The weapons available for us then were muskets that took time to reload and could only kill a single person at a time versus today where now we have semi-automatic and fully-automatic guns that can reload fast and fire up to # MPH each bullet killing multiple people in a quick succession.
Gun control has been a major issue ever since the formation of the NRA or National Rifle Association, and the recent school shootings have only made it worse. The 1999 Columbine school shootings was the first to instil that fear into people, and at least 150 thousand people attending 170 schools have experienced a school shooting since, as reported by The Washington Post. Many have blamed the school shootings on the exploitation of the 2nd Amendment, which states that the American people have the right to bear arms or form a militia for the security of a free state, or perhaps the gun restrictions are not enough.
We should also realize the fact that technology wasn’t the same as it is now than it was 227 years ago. The 2nd amendment was established during the late 18th century in december 1791, for the purpose of us to have the right to bear arms and form a well regulated militia to protect the country. The weapons available for us then were muskets that took time to reload and could only kill a single person at a time versus today where now we have semi-automatic and fully-automatic guns that can reload fast and fire up to # MPH each bullet killing multiple people in a quick succession.
A senior at YB, Carlos Arciniega, says that “people don’t understand the technology behind when the 2nd amendment was made,” and that “gun laws and background checks should be stricter on those who buy, and [the government should] raise the age for them.”
He believes that people shouldn’t just be able to buy semi-automatics right away. He fears that people sometimes buy guns, but not for what they are intended for. Teachers carrying guns, if it’s legalized, will have potential risks for example, what if a teacher leaves their gun in the classroom and a young student sees it? Or a young student accidentally shoots themself or their classmates with it?
Ron Elving from NPR believes that individuals have the inherent right to own the guns for “lawful” purposes and that repealing the 2nd amendment won’t be as easy. It also states that all efforts restricting guns control have been futile or failed.
Now, due to the Parkland school shooting, many want to legalize what some people are for and others are against— allowing teachers to carry guns in school. Although it can potentially minimize the chances of gun violence, and those who want teachers to have weapons don’t realize the risks behind it, especially the risks with students around the teachers.
For example, the students can accidentally use the gun in a horrible way when the teachers leave the room or when they don’t know that it’s a loaded one, most specifically those who can’t control their temper like those with a short fuse because it doesn’t take much for them to snap and once they snap, it would be unimaginable what they’d do with a gun in the classroom and some teachers wouldn’t be able to handle those type of students. Maybe, to resolve this, there can be a safe storage only teachers can exclusively access with a code in case of danger at school?.
The 2nd amendment has always been abused, exploited and is now becoming a serious issue more than ever before, as guns have been used in the wrong way. Gun violence has become a issue over the past centuries,with all the recent school shootings as there has been 17 as of early 2018. Millions have demanded a change in gun laws in the aftermath, and eventually if the government takes notice of the demands, maybe things will change for the better.
He believes that people shouldn’t just be able to buy semi-automatics right away. He fears that people sometimes buy guns, but not for what they are intended for. Teachers carrying guns, if it’s legalized, will have potential risks for example, what if a teacher leaves their gun in the classroom and a young student sees it? Or a young student accidentally shoots themself or their classmates with it?
Ron Elving from NPR believes that individuals have the inherent right to own the guns for “lawful” purposes and that repealing the 2nd amendment won’t be as easy. It also states that all efforts restricting guns control have been futile or failed.
Now, due to the Parkland school shooting, many want to legalize what some people are for and others are against— allowing teachers to carry guns in school. Although it can potentially minimize the chances of gun violence, and those who want teachers to have weapons don’t realize the risks behind it, especially the risks with students around the teachers.
For example, the students can accidentally use the gun in a horrible way when the teachers leave the room or when they don’t know that it’s a loaded one, most specifically those who can’t control their temper like those with a short fuse because it doesn’t take much for them to snap and once they snap, it would be unimaginable what they’d do with a gun in the classroom and some teachers wouldn’t be able to handle those type of students. Maybe, to resolve this, there can be a safe storage only teachers can exclusively access with a code in case of danger at school?.
The 2nd amendment has always been abused, exploited and is now becoming a serious issue more than ever before, as guns have been used in the wrong way. Gun violence has become a issue over the past centuries,with all the recent school shootings as there has been 17 as of early 2018. Millions have demanded a change in gun laws in the aftermath, and eventually if the government takes notice of the demands, maybe things will change for the better.