On Feb. 14, a 19-year-old man by the name of Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. and killed 17 people. Cruz, a recently expelled student from the high school, was armed with AR-15 assault rifle and opened fire on students and faculty. According to Time Magazine, it is the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn.
This mass school shooting is one of six incidents resulting in injuries or deaths and one of 17 reported gunshots in American schools this year. We are two months into 2018 and 17 schools have reported gunshots. 17 schools full of eager to learn American students have been terrified, or killed, in the place they should feel safe and focused on their education.
Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that day carrying an AR-15, which according to the National Rifle Association (NRA), is a very popular weapon in America. National Public Radio reported that the NRA recently stated “there are some eight million AR-15s and its variations in circulation, and says they are so popular that the ‘AR’ should stand for ‘America’s Rifle.’”
So, what is this weapon exactly? The rifle that Cruz carried that tragic day is what NPR deems “the civilian version of military weapons.” The rifle is a semi-automatic weapon, meaning the shooter must pull the trigger to fire each shot. When fully loaded, the shooter will have 30 bullets. In contrast, when using an automatic weapon, a shooter can hold down the trigger and fire all the bullets they have loaded. Automatic weapons have been restricted in the U.S. since the 1934 firearms act. However, according to NPR, “a bump stock — a legal device in many places — can be added to a semi-automatic weapon to approximate an automatic rifle.” The October Las Vegas shooter used a bump stock.
Almost every one of the school shootings in the past five years has included a shooter using an AR-15 rifle, in Texas, Las Vegas, Newton, Conn. — the list goes on.
Yet these weapons continue to be sold in the United States. One company, however, has decided to put an end to their involvement in the distribution of these weapons. In an official statement from the company, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced they will no longer be selling assault-style rifles and despite local laws, will require a buyer t0 be at least 21 years old to purchase a gun at their store.
Why must Dick’s Sporting Goods be the first to put a stop to weapon distribution, and what about all of the other guns they sell? A person who intends to commit mass murder will simply buy a different gun if the AR-15 isn’t available. Thus, there is no other answer then to stop the distribution of all guns altogether.
One of the main arguments against gun control is, “how can we remove all guns from circulation? There are so many out there.” According to the Guardian, Australia, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom all have gun control laws that America could take a few notes on. Following a 1996 U.K. massacre of 16 five and six-year-old students, and the teacher who tried to protect them, all semi-automatic firearms and pump action weapons were banned, and it was required to register shotguns. This came after an overwhelming influx of public petitions such as the Snowdrop Campaign.
Each of these countries have different stories and tactics when it comes to enacting gun control, yet they all have one thing in common: a tragic massacre. The American government cannot keep allowing children to be viciously murdered. Parents are dropping off their innocent children every day at school fearing if they will see them again. Children are sitting in their desks at school, scared that any minute a shooter will walk into their classroom and murder them.
This has to stop.
Throughout history, Americans generally cannot stand the idea of losing fellow citizens. Americans cannot stand their “boys” getting shipped overseas to fight for their country and possibly be killed. Americans cannot stand the idea of another terrorist attack killing innocent citizens. Yet, so many Americans seem to be fine with the fact that children are being murdered in schools every week. After 9/11 and the loss of innocent lives, America joined together to create new precautions to stop any further terrorist attacks. Yet when a school shooting happens, we simply broadcast it on the news for a couple weeks, mourn, say “that’s so sad” and then move on until we hear about the next one. Nothing happens. Nothing changes. If we take precautions to stop terrorists from shooting innocent Americans we must take precautions to stop shooters from murdering innocent children.
