One of the main causes of death among American children is gun violence. Every day in the U.S, twelve children die because of gun violence while thirty two children are shot and injured.
One out of ten gun deaths are of people nineteen or younger. Four out of five school shootings include at least one person aware of the attacker’s plans but did not report it. More than 70% of shooters are the ages twelve to eighteen so a majority of them are minors (SandyHookPromise). None of these facts seem real but unfortunately they are. The U.S. has become a place where no one is safe from guns. It is disappointing that innocent children, who have a full life ahead of them, get their lives stolen because of gun violence. All of these upsetting facts are important to know because children, teens, and even adults should not have to live in fear of being harmed or even killed by gun violence.
Gun violence is one of the United State’s biggest problems, and it’s getting increasingly worse every year. Guns kill more than 38,000 people and cause around 85,500 injuries every year in the U.S.
Since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, there have been 386 school shootings around the U.S.(TheWashingtonPost). As of September 28, there have been 54 school shootings this year alone (CNN). The most recent school shooting was on September 12, 2023 at St. Helena College, leaving one student killed and two others injured (Edweek).
Gun laws in the United States are not strict enough, they seem to be getting less restrictive because of laxed rules, and laws struck down by the court system.They are only helping out the growth of gun violence. Some states, like Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, Utah and many other states allow guns to be sold to owners without a license. (NewsNation) Due to these laws, people with bad intentions are able to purchase a gun without any verification for some states. Other states do require background checks when buying guns. The laws show that these are the largest number of perpetrators involved in gun violence.
Students who have unfortunately been exposed to gun violence, are traumatized from what they went through, and can start to become more frequently absent from school. This can cause them to have difficulty concentrating, and they can also find it emotionally difficult to connect with their peers and teachers.
Most school shooters are students themselves. Throughout all of the top five school shootings, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook elementary, Ulvade/Robb Elementary, University of Texas Tower, and the Parkland High School shooting involve all of the shooters being former students of those schools they attacked. Three out of five of the perpetrators had serious mental health issues. Students who have poor mental health, are being bullied and or abused, have chances of being a perpetrator.
“The topic of gun violence at school affects me personally because I never know when a school shooting can happen on campus. I don’t know if the person I’m sitting next to can be carrying a weapon with the intention of harming people,” junior Sariah Hernandez shares.
Students, staff members, and even parents of U.S. schools are worried about the possibility of gun violence occuring on campus. A school shooting can happen any day, to any school so it makes sense that this can make a student or a teacher deeply concerned.
See something? Sense something? Say something. If you ever notice verbal or behavior changes in a fellow peer, this could indicate that they may be struggling with mental health issues. If you have a feeling that someone is struggling with mental health issues, reach out to the peer, offer support and/or resources that can help them cope with whatever they are going through. Make sure to be understanding and patient with the peer, also encourage them to speak with a trusted adult if they are overwhelmed. If they decline your support, make sure they know that they can go to you and others to talk and get help at any time. That may seem awkward to say, but little acts of kindness can change someone greatly. You never know what someone is going through, so it is important to pay attention to how others act.
There are a few teachers who do their part in making sure students are doing well. Here at North, a great example of a teacher doing this is Ms. Soria.
Our wonderful biology teacher shares how she likes to help her students and says, “I always like to make sure that my kids feel emotionally safe because often school violence comes from people either bullied or they feel like outsiders in school. So that’s why I like to check in with you guys at least once every class to do my part to make sure that you guys feel involved,”.
As a society, it’s time for us to come together and finally say enough is enough. It’s time to end the silence, take action, and work together to end gun violence in our schools.
