Ortiz 1

Vanessa Ortiz

Dr. Sharity Nelson

ENGL 1302 101

04 November 2022

It’s Time to Put A Stop to School Shootings

Introduction

The United States is a country that is well known for the gun violence that occurs at

schools. However, this isn’t a good thing and something should be done to put a stop to this. An

article highlights, “Gun control is a volatile hot button issue, almost as controversial as

reproductive rights. It is no secret that gun violence is epidemic here in the United States, and the

rest of the world views us like a 21st century Dodge City” (Brenzenski 37). This mean that many

places around the world view the United States as a country that has no plan in fixing gun issues.

Because of this, there has been a rise in movements and conversations on how to keep schools

safe. An article talks about the different solutions people think of when it comes to stopping

these kinds of situations from happening like arming school teachers or taking away all guns

from school (Jonson 263-290). Many debates can arise especially when politicians start getting

involved and putting their own views on the conversation. For example, when the Sandy Hook

shooting happened President Obama stated, “guns are a force multiplier that dramatically

increases the potential for carnage” (Eckstein & Partlow Lefevre 228). In response, I argue that

stricter gun law should be placed in the United States because it ensures the safety of students,

teachers, and schools in general.

Different Solutions
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The laws the United States has placed on guns aren’t very strict at all. The age for

someone to obtain an assault rifle in the United States is 18 years old. Many citizens have issues

with this and want to raise it to 21 years old. Emma Fridel studied, “Prior work has consistently

shown that firearm ownership and usage is more prevalent in disorganized, violent communities,

increasing accessibility to underage youth” (603). Guns shouldn’t be available to kids since their

not in the right mind state to own a gun, so what’s to say that an 18 year old is capable of bearing

arms? Politicians have voiced their opinions on this as well. For example,

“the Florida state legislature raised the minimum age for purchasing firearms,

banned bump stocks that turn a semi-automatic rifle into an automatic, put a waiting

period in place for most firearm purchases, and appropriated millions for mental

healthcare at the community level.” (Brezenski 38).

This is one of the few cases many cases that showed action being done after a mass school

shooting. Action needs to be done and the government needs to take into account that if an 18

year old can’t buy alcohol, then they shouldn’t be buying a weapon that is used on the

battlefields .

Many people believe that arming teachers in school will resolve the problem. Rebekah

Elliot stated, “34 states introduced more than 80 bills with language specifically focused on

arming teachers or administrators in K–12 public schools” (533). This emphasized how many

states believed that by giving school employees a gun, they would be better protected in case a

shooter attacks the school. However, there are also many downfalls to this. In an article, it is

stated,

“With no national standard to serve as a guide, discretion is left to states and, particularly,

local school districts to determine who, if anyone, will be armed, how such individuals
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will be armed, and what training, if any, teachers and/or staff will have to undergo before

carrying a gun into the school” (Jonson et al. 265).

There isn’t much of a plan when it comes to the discussion of arming educators in schools.

Basically showing how it could potentially be a bad idea. Not many teachers have much

experience with guns, and they’re going to need training. Since most school shooters have been

students, a gun in every classroom wouldn’t be the greatest solution for this. They will know

where the gun is located making this plan more dangerous on student and teachers.

Debates

Debates on the topic of school shootings are endless. Ever since the Columbine Shooting

in 1999, there have been continuous opinions thrown around about gun reform from different

politicians. For example, when the Sandy Hook shooting happened, “President Obama urged

Congress to act to prevent future mass school shootings and curb gun violence in general”

(McQuiller 5). The bills that the Senate tried to pass failed and the NRA responded with, “he

only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” (McQuiller 6). Even though,

the President wanted to see a change in the law, many others opposed to it. *add more*

Although, there are many citizens that want a change on buying guns, many others don’t

see guns as the problem. An article states, “Responsibility lies elsewhere: Gun violence is a

problem of evil, or terrorism, or mental illness, or economic inequality, or inadequate law

enforcement, or something else” (Rood 47). People who are opposed to gun control believe that

the person buying the gun are the big threats in these scenerios. *add more sources*

Conclusion

Overall, the topic of gun violence and school shootings are going to continue happening

until change has been made. In order for a school to be considered a safe environment, the laws
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on guns need to change and become stricter. Parents shouldn’t be afraid of dropping their kids

off at school. They should feel comfortable knowing that their child is getting an education.

Instead, because of these situations happening, kids are practicing where to hide in case a

shooting were to happen. The nation hears the stories so many times that it’s starting to become a

“normal’ thing for the United States. But this is far from normal. Change needs to happen, and it

should’ve happened yesterday. It should’ve happened the day after the first school shooting

occured.

“The goals of the task force were simple and straightforward: Stop the gun

violence from semi-automatic rifles (or assault-style weapons in our common

terminology) in the U.S. and make our schools safe again” (Brezenski 37)

Brenzenksi presents this information of the goal, but nothing has happened since Columbine,

Sandy Hook, Parkland, etc. of the goal ever being achieved. It is time to put a stop in losing

teachers trying to protect their students. It is time to put a stop in students running for their lives

because a school shooter is going after them. It is time to put a stop to school shootings.
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Work Cited

Bonanno, Rebecca, et al. “Children’s Experiences with School Lockdown Drills: A Pilot Study.”

Children & Schools, vol. 43, no. 3, 2021, pp. 175–185. Academic Search Ultimate,

https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdab012.

Brezenski, Thomas. “Inside the 23rd Congressional District (FL) Gun Violence Task Force:

Real-Time Crisis Policymaking in the Wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School

Shootings.” Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, vol. 10, no. 1-2, 2018, pp. 35-49.

Academic Search Ultimate, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=asn&AN=130633633&scope=site

Eckstein, Justin, and Sarah T. Partlow Lefevre. “Since Sandy Hook: Strategic Maneuvering in

the Gun Control Debate.” Western Journal of Communication, vol. 81, no. 2, 2017, pp.

225–242. Academic Search Ultimate, https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2016.1244703.

Elliott, Rebekah. “The Real School Safety Debate: Why Legislative Responses Should Focus on

Schools and Not on Guns.” Arizona Law Review, vol. 57, no. 2, 2015, pp. 523–550.

Academic Search Ultimate, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=asn&AN=102813538&authtype=sso&custid=s9609537

&scope=site.

Fridel, Emma E. “The Contextual Correlates of School Shootings.” JQ: Justice Quarterly, vol.

38, no. 4, 2021, pp. 596–625. Academic Search Ultimate,

https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2019.1666907.

Jonson, Cheryl Lero, et al. “An Apple in One Hand, a Gun in the Other: Public Support for

Arming Our Nation’s Schools.” Criminology & Public Policy, vol. 20, no. 2, 2021, pp.

263–290. Academic Search Ultimate, https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12538.

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McQuiller, Michael V. “Enough Is Enough: Congressional Solutions To Curb Gun Violence In

America’s K-12 Schools.” DePaul Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 12, no. 1, 2019, pp.1-

21. Academic Seach Ultimate, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=asn&AN=135097126&authtype=sso&custid=s9609537

&scope=site.

Rood, Craig. “‘Our Tears Are Not Enough’: The Warrant of the Dead in the Rhetoric of Gun

Control.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, vol. 104, no. 1, 2018, pp. 47–70. Academic

Search Ultimate, https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630.2017.1401223.