FROM MANY VOICES: LET’S DO MORE TO STOP MASS SHOOTINGS

Young people want gun laws strengthened to prevent deaths

Shortly after the Parkland, Fla., school shooting that killed 17 people, I woke up to a Snapchat scare about a shooter coming to Bellaire High School. The threat was ultimatey a hoax, but it gave me a frightening mental image of a shooting happening at my school. Now, I’ve begun to wonder why it is that I or any other 15-year-old in America should fear being gunned down at school with a military-grade weapon.

Since the shooting deaths at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Bellaire social-media posts, including on Snapchat and Twitter, have been abuzz with the topic of school shootings. Student reactions range from fear and dejection to shock and rage. Many of my classmates are angered by the senseless loss of life, but, it must be noted, others are angry about talk of gun control. This is not unexpected here in gun-friendly Texas.

In fact, I found three categories of responses in a straw poll I took among my fellow students. On one end of two extremes were students who believe no guns are necessary in our country. On the other end were pro-gun students who said they want no restrictions on guns. The majority of students, however, said that they want people to be able to continue to own guns but with additional regulations.

In my survey, boys generally were more supportive of extreme gun-ownership rights, while girls tended to advocate for gun-control and gun-ban positions. Practically everyone agreed that the minimum age for gun ownership should be raised, and they saw a need for thorough background checks for, at the very least, assault rifles. Many students said they wanted to feel confidence in campus security and that adults charged with keeping students safe would not make mistakes like those made in the Florida case, such as ignoring warning signs about the shooter and threats he’d made to come to school with guns. They were concerned that he was able to carry a weapon-laden duffel bag and backpack past his school’s security without resistance.

Ultimately, this should be a wake-up call for people on all sides of the gun issue to work out sensible laws to protect us kids from mass shootings. Students want the people who are against guns to be reasonable and respect the Second Amendment and America’s hunting and sporting gun culture. They want the people for guns to wake up and realize the threats that firearms pose. They believe Congress has the power to lessen their chances of becoming victims of a school shooter if it would only only act. Lawmakers’ tweets of condolence are not enough.

The bottom line is that high school students are mad. We think about how many more schoolchildren will die before the government finally stops ignoring our safety. Young people are demanding limits on the kinds of weapons that can be sold because students should not have to fear being caught in the firing line of a gun that can shoot roughly two shots per second. It should never be on a child’s mind that getting shot at school is the risk that goes with receiving an education.

The student activists of Parkland have sent a message to grown-ups that we are done having to hear about one shooting after another. Their activism has inspired students across the United States to protest against Congress’ negligence. Parkland should be the tipping point for gun-control laws to finally be set in place. I believe young people know now that our time has come and that there must be change. Adults need to go vote, and congresswomen and congressmen need to hear students’ pleas for help.