On February 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, experienced one of the world's deadliest mass shootings. Seventeen people were killed and 18 others were hospitalized. Innocent students and faculty members lost their lives because of one monster with a rifle, Nicolas Cruz (19).

Besides the fact that this is the eighth school shooting in the United States since the start of the year, mind you, it's barely been two months... the rifle used by Cruz was the exact same rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.

Oh wait, and the Las Vegas shooting and the Orlando shooting.

Now, I have a question and whoever thinks they have a logical explanation, please make your voice heard. Why is it, that an individual of 18 years can legally purchase a military-style assault rifle, but has to be 21 years old to legally purchase a handgun in the state of Florida? How does this make any type of sense?

Why is it that an individual has to be 21 years of age to legally buy and drink alcohol in the United States, but 18 to buy a gun? Why is it that our government has stricter laws banning Kinder Chocolate Eggs in the United States than tighter gun control policies?

Why is it that former Marjory Stoneman Douglas student, Nicolas Cruz, WAS STILL ABLE to buy an AR-15 rifle as easily as he did, after being tipped off to the FBI TWICE? Cruz was expelled from school, posted pictures on social media holding guns and even commented on a youtube video saying that one day he "is going to be a professional school shooter?"

The government has had far too many chances to set gun control regulations on their own and we as students are done waiting around.

Our politicians have failed us.

They keep failing time after time, and we are nothing short of angry that it has happened again.

On February 21, 2018, survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School made their way to our state capitol in Tallahassee, Florida to protest for gun control. Students all around the United States showed their support by conducting walkouts during the day to not only fight for their rights but their safety and their lives. Students do not feel safe. Our parents do not feel safe. Action must be taken, and that action is being taken by the future leaders of the United States, us students.

Today, a friend of mine participated in a walkout at her South Florida Highschool. She and the rest of the students had made it a decent 15 minutes away from campus where the assistant principal approached the group and said: "Your fun is over, get back to class."

She stopped, stared at him and said: "Fighting for our rights is not what I like to call fun."

Had the assistant principle not turned on the news? Was he trying to forget the fact that the mass shooting could have very well happened in the very school he works at? Or is it that his political party doesn't seem to find the importance of gun control? I don't know, but it's blind people like him that students are done obeying and just another reason to continue fighting for gun control.

This is in no way "fun."

It is also no secret that one political party is in favor of gun control while the other political party is not. It is also no secret that the political party who is not in favor of gun control also happens to be the same side as our president.

The real point I'm trying to make here is that recently, people are so caught up in the idea of what political party wants what, what political party is stronger than the other, that they do not stop to think about how their selfish acts of "who says what" is affecting the population as a whole.

Gun control does not mean taking guns away from people. We don't want your guns. Gun control simply means making it more of a process, making it more difficult for just any person to be an owner of a gun.

We don't want politicians passing laws allowing for teachers to carry guns in school as "self-defense."

Our government today doesn't even want to give our teachers money for basic classroom supplies but they are willing to invest in gun handling lessons? You can't fight fire with fire, that will just put everything into flames. Can you imagine if EVERYONE was allowed to carry a gun on their person for "protection?"

One little disagreement could suddenly turn into a death sentence as the person who gets worked up knows he/she has an easy solution sitting in their back pockets.

Our politicians need to focus less on how much money from the NRA goes directly into their pockets and focus more on making it more difficult for just ANY individual to buy and obtain a weapon, especially an AR-15.

Us students are not giving up. We demand change and we want change now. There are other "fun" things we'd rather be doing, than doing our leaders' jobs.