Questions of a high school junior

It’s a time of tension over the place that guns occupy in society — particularly over whether they should be in schools. Everyone is looking for answers and everyone is hoping to push their own solution. We all hope our answer is the answer.

But we need to think more deeply before we can know what we truly desire and how we can reach our goals. I pose these questions not with the aim of persuading anyone that one side or another is correct, but with the hope that afterward, we will have either new perspectives or fortified viewpoints and we will have more questions to reflect on.

What are we afraid of? Is it that we will be harmed if we’re not well enough or that attackers are too well equipped? Who are we afraid of? Is it a person, a group, an organization? Why are we afraid of them?

Why might someone like guns? Why might someone dislike guns? Who should have guns? Is it every person’s responsibility to be equipped with a firearm?

Should no one have a gun? Something in between? Why is it our right to bear arms? Why should we be allowed to bear them? Why shouldn’t we be allowed to bear them?

If mental illness leads to mass shootings, should those illnesses be treated, should guns be restricted to people suffering from them. Or should something else be done?

How will gun control, or a lack of gun control, affect us as individuals? As communities? As a country? What is important to us? How can we maintain what’s important, and what is the price? What freedoms do we have? Why do they matter? What makes this country our home?

How do we protect our home? What can be done to keep us safe? What can we do as individuals to make a difference? What will stop the arguments?

And lastly, will gun violence end?

John Sellars Homestead High School junior

Mequon