Gun violence needs to stop. A statement that many already know is true, but is anyone doing anything about it? It feels like no one is doing anything to put an end to this problem. We need gun control as a country and the only way to achieve that goal is to make our voices heard. 

Students shouldn’t have to be worried about their lives when they hear that there’s someone strange in the building, but they are. It’s frightening knowing that just because you go to a public school, you’ll never know if today’s your last day.

Because of this fear, precautions are needed for every school. FLC already has metal detectors that students have to go through every morning. These metal detectors make sure no one brings in weapons or any other dangerous item. This is great but the only issue with them is that we need more. Not only do we need more but what about strangers that come in unexpectedly? They likely won’t cooperate and go through a metal detector, which is why we need better security. 

There have been many mass shootings that have happened in the past where children have been injured and killed. They were young and didn’t deserve to die, but the shootings happened. Instead of doing something about it, our government pushed it to the side. 

One of the most heartbreaking shootings that have happened in America was the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 where 26 people, 20 of them being young children, were murdered unexpectedly. Five years later, the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting happened, 17 people, mostly students, died and 17 were injured. 

The problem is these aren’t the only shootings that have happened in American schools, over the past 10 years there have been 180 school shootings and 365 victims. Most of the victims were children, thinking they would have another day to play outside with their friends or fight with their siblings. Instead, all they got was their precious lives taken away, adding their names to the pile of kids who also couldn’t hug their parents goodbye. 

Devastating, right? So many students have been murdered. You would think the government would be respectful and do something about this, but no. They did nothing. We still don’t have gun control, something that is truly needed today and would put a stop to the killing of innocent children and teachers. 

Amy Garcia, a teacher at Franklin Learning Center, said, “As a teacher, I see, on a regular basis, a much more frequent and prolific problem, teenagers and young adults using guns to “solve” disagreements. The true tragedy is the permanence of the pain, trauma, and grief caused by a split-second decision.” 

Garcia is not the only one who feels this way. Many have expressed their opinions on gun violence and how the government is just pushing everything under the rug.

 The government doesn’t seem to notice the impact that gun violence has on other people. They don’t notice that teens and children are losing their lives. Gun violence also has a lasting effect on those around them even if they weren’t harmed. 

Garcia talks about how gun violence can harm innocent people. 

She said, “It turned out that two teenagers had gotten into an argument across the street from the school, and decided to solve it with gunfire. The mother of a student who was sitting in my class at the time was caught in the crossfire and lost her life. Absolutely no good comes from using guns to solve disputes. The result is a tragedy. Every. Single. Time.”

Students are showing signs that school shootings are affecting them. 

Manar Souici, a student at Franklin Learning Center, said, “I’ve never been afraid of being in a school shooting until having a false lockdown in FLC that suddenly became a real one. The fear in my heart raised.”

The act of gun violence in schools has been ignored long enough. It has sadly gotten to the point where students are no longer taking the drills seriously. Nor are they trusting the school that is supposed to keep them safe. 

It has gotten to the point where we can only help ourselves. 

Garcia recommends that “any student who has had experience with gun violence reach out to a counselor, or an adult that they trust. There are people around them who would like to help; I encourage them to reach out and ask for it.”