17 kids hurt, 17 people missing, 17 lives lost, 1 gun.
It was such a long time ago now that so many people have forgotten, but I never will, I can’t. I remember my mom telling me that there was a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass (MSD) but it didn’t completely register in my head until I was sitting in a Pasquales with my friends, watching the tv screen as a list of names started popping up: Gina Montalto, Jaime Guttenberg, Nicholas Dworet… the list goes on and on. I didn’t know any of the people who died, but I knew people who did and looking at the agony on their faces, I knew that the world had to change.
Guns have become an increasing issue within the US and although the fight against them has gained much support, almost no one with power has done anything to make a change. So the question arises, why haven’t they?
“Guns aren’t the problem,” said Pete Sessions, “sick people are.”
I hear this and I think, “Blame a person, it’s fair they did it, but why on earth allow others who are just as sick in the head the same access?” The US is the world’s leading country in mass shootings being responsible for 73% of mass shootings across the world. Now within the country, guns have become the leading cause of death with the article Children and teens are more likely to die by guns than anything else stating that, “Firearms accounted for nearly 19% of childhood deaths (ages 1-18) in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wonder database. Nearly 3,600 children died in gun-related incidents that year (2020).”
The MSD shooting, which would go on to be one of the top 10 deadliest mass shootings within the US, resulted in the death of 17 people and injuries in 17 others. After this tragedy, people began to start protests which grew into the March for Our Lives which was established in 2018.
I believe that it’s important to recognize the impact that gun violence has had on millions of kids living within the US. Guns don’t help us in any way so what is the point in keeping them around? People may argue that we have the right to bear arms, we shouldn’t have our guns taken away from us, okay well then don’t. Switzerland has one of the lowest gun-related crime rates within the world and they do own their own guns, the difference is they have laws which put the people’s safety first. “Not only are you supposed to be criminal record-free in order to get a gun, but you must also be deemed unlikely to cause harm to other Swiss,”states the article Why Gun Ownership in Switzerland is Not the Same in the US.
People are scared of what lives around their corners, but the government hasn’t shown any interest in our fears. Why do we have to suffer the consequences of a government unable to put its people first? Guns need to be outlawed or at least limited I mean, what use is the idea of an American dream if we’re too dead to live it out.
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