In the wake of the new year, no one ever expects to see such acts of hate. However, in the beginning of this month, an armed man opened fire in an international airport in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Killing at least five people, and injuring eight, the perpetrator could cause such harm after reportedly carrying a gun in his checked bag. Flying in from Alaska, the suspect had a declared gun in his checked bag. After leaving the aircraft in FL, the suspect opened fire in the baggage terminal in a sea of innocent people.

Being raised in Florida makes this tragedy hard for me to swallow. It is even harder for me to accept that this shooting could have been contained. Guns should not be allowed in an airport. Everyone is required to go through security, and they are not allowed to carry weapons that could harm others. Because of this security, we assume that airports are some of the safest institutions in America. However, some can carry weapons in an airport. In Alaska, one can carry a licensed weapon in the common areas of the airport (before and after security), but federal laws restrict weapons from going further than security. However, in FL, one is not allowed to carry a weapon even if they are just picking up a loved one and not actually boarding a flight themselves. This makes it highly unlikely for an airport in FL to see a gun crime inside of an airport.

Florida is known for tragic mass shootings. Unfortunately, the Sunshine State is home to one of the nation’s largest mass shootings. In June of 2016, an armed man committed a hate crime on the LGBT community inside of a popular nightclub. In the nightclub, Pulse, the gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others. This crime was the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

As a state, Florida has seen terrible acts of hate. In the wake of such tragedy, instead of fighting with each other over gun laws, we need to agree that we have seen too many violent gun acts in the past twenty years. These acts were done with the perpetrator having access to firearms illegally. In the case in Fort Lauderdale, the suspect had a gun in a zone where it illegal to carry any type of weapon. We need to seek justice for victims of gun violence by making a change.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of anyone affected by this recent tragedy and anyone who has been affected by gun violence.