NRA: Not Responsible Apparently

NRA%3A+Not+Responsible+Apparently

On April 20, 1999, thirteen people were killed and twenty-one were injured in the Columbine School Shooting. On April 16, 2007, thirty-two were killed and seventeen were injured in the Virginia Tech Shooting. On December 14, 2012, twenty-seven were killed and two more injured. These shootings are only three of the 25 fatal school shootings since Columbine.
On February 14, 2018, nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz stormed into Stoneman Douglas High School and brutally massacred seventeen people and injured fourteen more. Among those killed, fourteen were students and three were adults. As the whole nation began to send thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families, it became apparent that thoughts and prayers were not enough.

Many students from the high school started promoting gun safety as an attempt to minimize risks of attacks at schools. Waves of support for the students of Stoneman Douglas High flowed throughout social media, and with them came an outpour of outrage.
Some people proudly advocated gun control while others rejected reforms. Politicians, affected by the outburst of debates over gun control, have tried to avoid conversations about gun laws, claiming that it was too early to talk about gun control. Many students from Parkland did not accept this dismissal.

    Instead, students David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez, Sam Zeif, Julia Cordover, and Cameron Kasky tirelessly worked to organize marches and walkouts to make sure their friends did not die in vain. Their efforts helped inspire teens around the country to join the fight for their lives.

    Gun control has been, and still is, an extremely controversial topic. For traditionalists, owning a firearm can be a symbol of liberty. For other people, the right to bear arms is a possible imposition on their right to live. To battle politicians who are not doing enough to protect children, students from Parkland organized the March for Our Lives protest. Around 800,000 people advanced to Washington D.C. according to USA Today. Around the country, across all fifty states, students, parents, teachers, and citizens stood up and challenged gun laws. Some called for the ban of all assault rifles. Some demanded stricter age restrictions on gun purchases. Some demonstrated their objections to guns in general. Regardless of their reason to march, thousands of protesters showed up to stand with each other in Washington D.C. for one cause–to end senseless and avoidable mass shootings.

    At Wilcox, students walked out in silence on March 14 for seventeen minutes to pay respect for the victims of the Florida shooting. In San Jose, on March 21, people gathered at City Hall to show their support for the movement. Despite the rain, they flooded the streets valiantly. Students were especially vocal about their concern for the safety of their peers. They shared popular hashtags including #AmINext and #Enough in hopes of contributing to the movement. Angelyn Nguyen, a Wilcox student, declared that “when mass shootings happen and your response is ‘again,’ it’s a sign that something needs to be done about it. People are really desensitized about stuff like this. When mass shootings happen at schools, students need to stand up to do something about it, especially when our politicians don’t want to.” She further continued, “guns are too accessible. There needs to be restrictions. Sometimes it seems like the second amendment is more protected than the students.” The Santa Clara School Board also voiced their concern and asked lawmakers to apply background checks to purchases of firearms. Ultimately, it’s important to remember that people must take action to resolve this crisis. It’s the fact that people are dying. That should be enough to convince anyone that something needs to be done.