American schools in the 20th century are not safe. When I talk to my friends and the people around me no one feels safe. School has become a place of fear and not of enrichment. The rise of gun violence has had an astronomical effect on today’s society and especially its youth. The conversation has arrived at a place that is very alarming, lawmakers and schools are starting to bring in the idea of teachers and administrators being armed in the classroom.  The concept of a teacher having to have a firearm in the room to protect students is so jarring. Lawmakers and schools have come to the decision that the last drastic measure to protect their students is the very thing that kills them is mind-numbing. 

It’s sad to me that these lawmakers are not listening to the people who are affected by these shootings and have to live with it every day. Teachers didn’t sign up to protect their students with a gun, they wanted to shape the minds of the youth and make an impact. No one wanted to teach kids where to hide or what to defend themselves with in case someone came into the classroom with a gun. These fears are very real and me being a student myself I have to deal with them every day.

According to a study done by Education Week, There were 51 school shootings in 2022 that resulted in injuries or deaths, the most in a single year since they began tracking such incidents in 2018. Now compare this to the number of school shootings in 2018 where there were only 24 incidents. There should not be this dramatic gap or any numbers at all for that matter. 

Some may argue guns aren’t the issue, mental health is. Then why are you making guns so easy for mentally ill people to obtain then? Also in a study done by the National Library of medicine only around 4% of gun violence is caused by mental health. If this is such a big issue, why are you not doing anything about it ? Is it just to make it easier for you to play with an AR-15 while kids are being shot and killed by one in english class. 

Gun culture in America is out of hand and deadly. Four-in-ten adults say they live in a household with a gun, including 30% who say they personally own one according to a study done by a Pew Research Center. And keep in mind that’s only the documented ones. The laws surrounding gun ownership are way too loose and allow too many people who shouldn’t own a gun to obtain one. In the U.S in most cases you only have to be 18-years-old to obtain a firearm. That’s a kid, not a full grown adult. The background checks run for gun ownership are clearly not as solid as they may seem. With the addition to stricter laws it would cut these shootings down significantly and hopefully one day down to zero.