Eden Pepos

In my opinion, we should be prioritizing student safety by paying closer attention to gun laws.

  There are people dying because of gun violence that the gun legislations are failing to do anything about because they won’t implement any gun laws or rules upon who, where/and at what age you can own a gun.

  The way that the law enforcement deals with the violence makes me feel like at any point someone could shoot another school, because of how little is being done about the law abiding guns. There should be more control over who owns and can use guns.

According to the CDC, 80.5% of all homicides in the U.S. are gun-related. According to the ONS, in England and Wales, only 4% of homicides are gun-related.

Guns are not illegal in the U.K. In fact, you can apply to get a gun license when you are only 14 years old. The difference, though, is that you have to complete a 15-page application to get a gun, Similar to getting a driver’s license. The U.K. requires all gun owners to be certified with a five-year firearm certificate or a shotgun certificate.

The difference in gun laws between the U.S and U.K. is that most U.K. police don’t carry guns and the ones that do have to have a certification to carry it.

Guns should be banned because law enforcement is supposed to protect citizens from shootings, but not even cops or law enforcement have been of help. They either catch the shooters, shoot the shooters, or let them get away.

A study in the U.S. found that 17% of jailed offenders committed their crime under the age of 21. An increased minimum age in their state would have prevented their crime and sentencing.

Gun access isn’t just a problem for criminal activity, but for mental health and safety. Gun access can significantly increase the chance that an adolescent or young adult attempts or completes suicide.

The majority of school shooters are aged 18-20. This age range also has the highest rates in other gun incidents such as homicide by a firearm. 18-20 year olds are 4% of the US population, but 17% of homicide offenders that used a gun, according to study.

This is the only country with this frequency of shootings. Mass shootings include public shootings, bar/club incidents, family annihilations, school, drive-by, workplace, and those which don’t have descriptions. Four people are at least shot and end up being killed or injured during any of these shootings. This does not include this shooter.

In 2021, 81% almost 21,000 of the deaths were homicides, according to the CDC.

At least more than 50 people are killed by a firearm everyday in the US. That’s more homicides than in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, among other countries.

If we got rid of guns and enforced gun laws as well as gun certifications, then there would be less chances of kids being afraid and on edge at school thinking there would be a shooting or possibilities of shootings in theaters, malls, going downtown, and going anywhere alone. In Oregon alone, there have already been 30 statewide. In the U.S. there have been 389 casualties this year?. That means over 300,000 children have experienced gun violence or shootings. This is why we need gun control.