On Wednesday the 17th at 1:30 a.m., my school was vandalized. Spray painted on the outside of our campus were violent threats against our school and its students which caused the administration to cancel our first two days of school. Although some of us were grateful for the extra time to finish our summer work, most of us were focused on the fear brought on by these threats. As much as we have tried to comfort ourselves by saying the vandal wouldn't have warned us if he really wanted to hurt us, it is hard to ignore the devastating school shootings in recent months. With threats like these it is hard to ignore the question: Could that be us?
Realistically, yes it could. I believe in our law enforcement and our school administration to do all they can to prevent this vandal from putting his threats to action, but with the easy access to weapons out there, it is completely possible we could fall victim to him. Since 2013, there have been around 200 school shootings in the US. Numbers like that make me never want to attend school again, especially after a threat is made to possibly add my school to that list. The underlying problem here is no secret: Something needs to be done about the gun laws and regulations in the US.
To legally buy a gun, one must go through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). In 2012 alone, about 16,000,000 NICS applications were filled out in the US. That number does not even account for stolen guns or guns bought illegally. These checks do a small part to prevent previous criminals from acquiring guns legally, but there are plenty of ways to acquire them illegally. Not all guns are used for evil, but they are still an easy resource to acquire for evil. Even those without a previous criminal record are still capable of using guns for violence. There is no way to predict exactly how the gun will be used after purchase, which leaves the safety of our country in the gun-owners' hands: He or she gets to decide exactly how that gun will be used.
The topic that always comes up when guns are used for evil is the Second Amendment of the Constitution. It's natural to hold on to traditional things like the Constitution, but when they are doing more harm than good, it is time to take a second look. The amendment was written in 1791 at a time when guns were incapable of causing mass destruction; however with our current firearms they are much more potent. Because of our unwavering belief in this old document, we are allowing violence to happen and are even defending their right to the weapon used in an act of violence.
Many would ask questions regarding guns for self-defense purposes. To them I would say we wouldn't need guns to defend ourselves if guns were not readily available for violence. Reigning in the access to guns will not get rid of all guns, but it will make it much easier to control the use of them and hopefully in the future they will not be something with which we feel the need to defend ourselves.
It is understandably hard to abandon a part of what this country was founded on and something that has been a constant throughout our history, but we've done it before. The 13th Amendment was added in 1865 to abolish slavery, something that our country was founded on, but which caused harm and pain to a multitude of people. Why now can we not abandon an amendment that our country was founded on, but causes a multitude of people in this age harm and pain?
It mostly boils down to priorities. Which do we prioritize: the safety of our citizens or our loyalty to an ancient document?
It sadly takes situations like the 200 school shootings and the open threats of violence at schools to bring to light this issue, but in the future I pray we can do something, anything to prevent that number from rising. Whether we change background checks for legal purchase of guns, change protocol about how guns must be stored and where they can and cannot be carried, or just abandon the Second Amendment all together, something must be done. It will not solve the problem immediately, but it is immensely better than doing nothing. It is time we start to view our friends' and family's lives as more important than a law made at a time that does not remotely resemble today.
I prioritize feeling safe in public over my right to own a weapon. I prioritize feeling safe in my school over my right to own a weapon. I prioritize being able to focus on my education over my right to own a weapon. I, without a doubt, prioritize the lives of my neighbors, friends, and family over my right to own a weapon.
Make your choice: People or Pistols?
