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Kiley Jackson

Layson

English 11

25 March 2019

How Many

How many? How many students, families, young children, religious believers, etc. have

to be killed until we make a change? The impact a mass shooting has on a town is something that

people will never forget. It is a living nightmare for anyone involved. More action needs to be

taken regarding the gun laws in the United States because of the tragic school shootings, lack of

government intervention, and the terrible hate crimes caused by guns.

The second amendment was added the Constitution of the United States of America in

1789. The second amendment is defined as “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the

security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

(Gale). At the time it was added to the constitution, the guns were very different; now we have

AK-47 that “At the full cyclic rate, they can fire about 600 rounds per minute.” There have been

many supreme court cases about the second amendment. Two of the most well-known ones

being the United States v. Miller and District of Columbia v. Heller. One of the most impactful

gun control laws passes was the Gun Control Act of 1968. This was named in honor of James

Brady, a press secretary to Ronald Reagan who was extremely injured during the presidential

assassination attempt in 1981. After this law, many more laws were created along with bans on

certain firearms. During President Obama’s administration, he attempted to create many more
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laws on guns, but in a majority Republican Senate, they all got turned down. Now, while in

Trump's Administration, he had already removed “... a provision that required the Social Security

Administration to submit mental health information to NICS” (Gale).

Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Parkland are the main three school shootings in our

country. Unfortunately, those aren’t the only ones that have happened recently. Since 2013, there

have been at least 428 incidents involving gunfire. Really think about that number. Most of us

fail to even count that number in our head. In those shootings, there were 174 deaths and 331

injuries. Out of 174 deaths or 331 injured, any one of them could have been any of us. Could

have been me, a best friend, a beloved cousin, or even a teacher who helped many of us through

a rough time. Over time, schools have listened and learned. They continued to make

“improvements” in their schools but answer this, Do any of us genuinely feel safe walking into

our school? A place where we are required to be for 8 hours of the day. A place where for some,

is their safe haven from home. How is a place that is preparing us for our future, also a death trap

at the same time?

Gun control has forever been a huge issue in the United States. A big question citizens

have is “Why is it taking us so long to make the change?” In recent shootings, New Zealand took

just three days to ban assault rifles. After the mass shooting in Las Vegas, it took the federal

government 14 months to take some sort of action. Following Sandy Hook, “President Barack

Obama signed 23 executive actions related to gun control” (Hicks). Many years later, and these

orders have still yet to be in effect. Lastly, after Parkland there is nothing that has been done as

far as legislation based on gun control. Although, zero action has been taken since February 14,

2018. The trend will continue for as long as we don’t make a change. The administration has the
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perfect opportunity to try and seek a change in our country; ”​If Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Trump are

sincere about coming together to fix problems the public cares about, there seems hardly a more

pressing place to start than reducing gun violence” (Times). Both parties can come together to

ensure that mass shootings are decreased.

Out of all the shootings that have happened in recent years, it is hard to tell how many of

them are deemed “hate crimes”. A couple that comes to mind is Orlando, FL shooting at Pulse

nightclub, a gay bar. Another one is the shooting in Sutherland Springs, TX, at a Baptist church.

Most recently, the shooting at two mosques in New Zealand, where a gunman killed 50 people.

A hate crime is defined as, “ any of various crimes (such as assault or defacement of property)

when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (such as one based on color,

creed, gender, or sexual orientation)” (Merriam-Webster). With this definition, the incidents that

have happened over the past for years can be deemed “hate crimes”. When these mass shootings

happen it isn’t only the ones who are killed who are dying. The people, families, friends, and

survivors surrounding the situation are dying on the inside too. Sadly, many of them will never

be the same after the disaster.

Our country is very two-sided and when it comes to laws there are many arguments.

Sure, most Americans agree on the fact that we need stricter gun control laws, but there is a

percentage of the country that disagrees. Some would say that stricter gun laws are taking away

their second amendment right to own. Another argument is that gun control laws won’t prevent

criminals from obtaining guns themselves. The second amendment was created years ago when it

took more than one minute to reload a gun. Now we have guns that can kill ten people in less
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than one minute. Saying that gun control laws won’t stop people from getting guns, doesn’t

change the fact that guns are rarely used in self-defense.

Gun control has been an issue for the past 20 years and will continue to be a problem

until something is fixed. All the mass shootings at schools, the government being focused on

anything but gun control, and the awful hate crimes, we are in need of a different outcome than

death. Turning on the t.v. this day in age, one never knows what breaking news will be on today.

We as Americans forget that it can happen anywhere. We love to say, it won’t be us, it would

never happen in my town. Except it could be any of us, it could be our town. The final question

is just how many more?

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Works Cited

Source Citation​ (MLA 8​th​ Edition)

"Gun Control." ​Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection,​ Gale, 2018. ​Opposing Viewpoints in

Context,​

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999212/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&

xid=b0f48974​. Accessed 21 Mar. 2019.

"New Zealand took 3 days to ban assault rifles. Here's how long it took the US to act after mass

shootings." ​CNN Wire​, 21 Mar. 2019. ​Opposing Viewpoints in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A579660089/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC

&xid=34bf5b75​. Accessed 28 Mar. 2019.

“Hate Crime.” ​Merriam-Webster,​ Merriam-Webster,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hate%20crime?src=search-dict-box​.

"Will Congress Toughen Gun Laws?" ​New York Times​, 9 Nov. 2018, p. A30(L). ​Opposing

Viewpoints in Context​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A561536704/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC

&xid=696f611b​. Accessed 5 Apr. 2019.