Discuss both of the following in your post:
- What is your initial reaction when you hear about an event like this?
- What do you think should be done to help ensure things like this can be avoided?
Monday, February 26, 2018
School Shootings
Welcome back!!! Not exactly a fun nor easy topic but one I think must be discussed. On February 14 a 19 year old former student walked into Stoneman Douglas High School and killed 17 students and teachers. He also injured 14 people. Without any weapons training he was legally able to purchase a Ar-15 semi automatic rifle. A weapon capable of firing 20 shots in 9 seconds. Here's some more facts:
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When I first heard about the unacceptable tragedy that took place in Parkland, Florida, my initial reaction was not shock or dismay. I kind of said to myself, "Oh, another school shooting," like it was something I was used to. Growing up in the United States, the first mass shooting I remember hearing about was Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Although I was only in 4th grade, I remember hearing all the fancy politicians and current President Barrack Obama say that this was the last time innocent people would be killed because of a mentally ill person's ability to obtain a gun. They all claimed that this was never going to happen again, that changes would be made to protect children in school and make public places in the United States safer for everyone. But here we are again, just 8 years later, with over 290 school shootings since Sandy Hook and 17 school in 2018 alone. Changes haven’t been made, and horrible consequences have erupted because of this. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida have had to personally cope with these consequences as they witnessed a school shooting in their own classrooms that took the lives of 17 of their classmates and teachers. As a teenager who is growing up surrounded by these incidents, I have become almost apathetic to such tragedies. But this time, I am done standing by and letting things like this happen in places where people are supposed to feel protected and where children are supposed to feel safe. Teenagers all around the United States are organizing marches and conferences to let the voices of 14-17 year olds be heard to politicians and the government. These teenagers are pushing for stricter gun laws; laws that will not allow citizens to own such horrific and war like weapons like an AR-15 gun. I stand with these teens and believe that our voices NEED to be heard by the older generation that has the ability to act for us by voting on laws we cannot. Although mental health was definitely an issue in the case of the parkland, Florida shooter, there is no denying that stricter gun laws could have potentially stopped this tragedy from occurring. However, I also believe that in order to avoid these catastrophes, students have to start thinking more about how we treat each other. Since I was in middle school, I have heard students make remarks about one another, saying that someone “looks like a school shooter” because they wear sweatpants to school and are antisocial. If we are going to help people like the Parkland shooter, we must first be nicer to people like him. We have to understand that we say means something, and that our words impact people in ways we can’t imagine.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about the tragedy I was not surprised, because it has now has become common for school shootings to occur. I then later felt an empty hole inside me as I looked at their pictures flash on the TV screen. My mom was crying for the innocent lives lost while I felt sick and angered. Those kids were my (or around) my age, they had futures, they had lives to live, family to come home to, they had events and clubs that they could have made a difference in. Even though I didn't know them, I realized that their lives were precious and that they could have been just like me, wanting to explore the world when out of school, dreaming they can become something amazing in life, and pushing themselves to excel so they can later help others in the future. I knew gun restriction should have been dealt with before hand, but there are so many other factors to these shootings. I feel that we should fight for more gun control so it isn't that easy to buy or purchase a gun no matter what age, but we also need to be prepared for the worst. All schools need more security, lock down practices, and assemblies where they bring in people to teach children how to stay calm and defend themselves against people with a weapon. I also believe that our school St.Saviour should have better security, because my own mom found the doors unlocked during school hours. Our school should also have more lock down practices because the school year has almost ended, and we only had ONE lock down practice this entire time! We should also have assemblies where we are given lectures on staying calm during a school break in and teaching us not to be afraid to speak up if someone is acting strange. The assembly meeting should also teach us how to defend ourselves against an attacker with a weapon. We must always be prepared because no one knows what is going on in another person's head. I know I wouldn't want to be caught in a terrifying situation that is now common in our country. I think those dead teens didn't want to be in that type of situation as well.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about the shooting I felt many different emotions. Obviously it is heartbreaking because these were just a bunch of kids going to school one day and now they are dead. I think of the parents who will never see their children again, the kids who will now never have futures, the students whose friends are gone, and the students who walked into school the morning put in hospital beds by that evening. It still upsets me as much as it did when I heard about it.
ReplyDeleteI feel that in this case people are using the fact that this attack was carried out with a gun to brush aside the massive failures of both Federal and local law enforcement in Parkland. Whatever becomes of the gun debate I do not think will not stop another shooting from happening nor will it lessen the amount of people likely to perish in a future attack. The only way to prevent another mass shooting is by making schools more prepared for them and by addressing the law enforcement failures that lead to this happening. Schools could be make more prepared in two ways, increasing security and through drills. It is extremely unfortunate how the levels of security can differ from school to school. The school that I went to before here had two police officers or more assigned to it at all times along with additional security guards. Their car(s) were always parked right by the front entrance just to show that it was protected. I think that the law should require all schools to have three officers assigned to them as a minimum with additional security guards all of whom are trained. The decision for how many more police officers assigned to a school should be reached based off of the size of the school. This way should something happen there would be one police officer or security guard would be in every part of the building. It should also be made abundantly clear to such officers and guards that this is not a slack off kind of job. In Parkland there were four deputies who did nothing while Cruz was shooting children. If an officer or a guard do nothing to do their job when an attack occurs at their school they should be fired for failing to do their job. After all, the entire purpose of security guards and officers at a school is to protect students and faculty should an attack or shooting occur. Schools should also be required to have drills that go over lock down procedures, evacuation procedures, and self defense mechanisms and tactics multiple times every year. It is not enough to know how to run and hide if there is an attack. If it comes down to you and the killer both students and faculty would need to know how to defend themselves.
My initial reaction to the news, was honesty not surprised. I was sad and upset at everything that happens in this world. However, sadly it is quite common. Many school shooting have occurred in recent years. Watching the testimonies of parents and students and the memorials of the victims, my heart broke for them, their friends, and their families. Perhaps the scariest part of this is that these kids were basically my age, some of them younger, they had dreams, hopes and aspirations. I think that we do need new and improved gun control laws. We need to ensure that schools, the faculty and students are better prepared for situations like this one. More drills and lock downs have to be put in place. On top of that better security needs to be implemented, schools need more security guards, and more safety precautions. In schools where there are more students or their is a direct threat, metal detectors are actually helpful, and could help protect the students and prevent a tragedy. One school even banned backpacks and this lowers the risk of a student to bring a gun into school by hiding it in their school bag. However, I think the best way to prevent a tragedy is to stop having so many guns. The US has the highest gun murders per 100,000 thousand resident, beating Canada (the second highest) by around 3.15, this high number has a direct relation to our also high statistic in civilian guns per hundred people, the US again extends other countries with around 90 guns per hundred people. In the US more people have guns then in other countries, the solution to all of our shootings is to bring the number of people who have guns down. The less guns that are present in our society, the less shootings and loss of lives will occur.
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard of the news of the school shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, I first tried to take in the fact that another school shooting was happening in this country. Before hearings of the victims, I learned alarming facts about shootings in the U.S. This is the 17th school shooting in the country in 2018. 17 school shootings in less than three months! Though school shootings are sadly numerous in this country, it still shocked me that our country has not made more efforts to lessen the amount of mass shootings through the years. When a tragic event like this occurs, people take a stand and make their voice be heard. However, this drive and need for change dies down over time and will only come up again when the next mass shooting occurs. As a country, we need to make this drive consistent and never let the discussion stop. Though any attempts of reform won’t be immediate, it’s better than doing nothing at all. Even the smallest attempts could change things. When the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School return to school, there will be plenty of police guarding. Only because the shooting has already occurred will there be high security at this school. However, the chances of there being another school shooting in this school are next to impossible. It is too late to put guards around the school. Maybe, if there were already guards in the school everyday prior to this event, the devastating effects could have been lessened. It is also shocking to me that someone who is not even of the legal drinking age can get their hands on a semiautomatic rifle, especially a man who is has been reported to police for dangerous behavior. It is necessary to have certain qualifications and a deep, acceptable background check before buying a gun. These innocent teens and adults who were violently taken away from their family and friends should be reason enough to push for more gun control, because improvement can only come from change.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to the Stoneman Douglas shooting was not shock, or even sadness. At this point, mass shootings have become such a common thing to hear about in the news and media, that my first reaction was, "Oh another one." When the Sandy Hook shooting occurred, I was so shocked and afraid because I had never heard of something so awful happening ever. Over five years later though, I’ve become so used to hearing about mass shootings on the news, that they have little effect on me. Of course it was upsetting to hear about, but I feel like a kind of just shrugged it off, after all there have been 17 mass shootings this year alone, and it’s only March.
ReplyDelete“Since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, the U.S. has seen 1,518 acts of gun violence in which at least four people were wounded or killed, according to the Gun Violence Archive website. That’s nearly one mass shooting a day for the 1,754 days since the shocking slaughter of the Connecticut kids.” (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/1-700-dead-mass-shooting-day-sandy-hook-article-1.3539717)
I have to admit, I don’t know all that much about laws regarding guns. Regardless of how little I know, I don’t think civilians need access to assault rifles, or semi automatic weapons. I know that Americans have the Constitutional right to bear firearms, so we can “protect ourselves/homes” but even so the most you should need to protect your home is a pistol. There isn't a good reason for anyone to need a gun like an AR-15 which fires 45 rounds per minutes. The only situation you could use that would be one in which you had the intent to kill someone.
“An AK-47 is not a sporting weapon nor needed for defense of a home” - Ronald Reagan
Australia changed their gun laws after a mass shooting in 1996 and they haven't had one since. So why is it that in America, our government would rather focus on things like net neutrality, rather gun control; our priorities are out of whack!
We live in a country where you can’t drive more than 25 mph in a school zone at 2:30 but for some reason an unstable 19 year-old can purchase a weapon at his local Walmart and take that to a school zone. How many innocent lives need to be lost for people and Congress to realize that something is seriously wrong.
My initial reaction to this horrendous event was remorse,but not because innocent people died due to a teenagers temper tantrum.I was not shocked because the number of school shootings in the news recently makes it seem like something regular, with nothing out of the norm.While the media still makes a big deal about it, they also make a big deal of animals being adopted or a slightly amusing events.Yes,school shootings need to stop, and when they occur should not be talked about as if it's part of everyday life.Events like the one that occurred in Florida could be prevented if gun laws were improved,the age to legally own one bumped up and background checks were given to those who wanted to obtain a gun to ensure they do not have malicious intent.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about the shootings on February 14th, my heart went out to all of the students and their families that were affected. I cannot imagine how they feel after losing a loved one, especially at this age. To avoid all occurrences like this, I think the government should create stronger gun laws and not JUST blame it on mental illnesses. Also, there should be metal detectors and a stronger security system in school, like in airports, arenas, and all public places. It is not okay for anyone to own a deadly weapon and be under the influence to bring it into a school and harm children.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite simple. The U.S. is using 200 years old laws for a 21st century society. Laws that were meant to enable the citizens' freedom, but at the same time, their intention was not to enable murder. The U.S. needs to drop these ridiculous gun laws and update them for the modern society of today. Clearly gun control is not the only issue, as mental illness is also a large contributor to mass shootings. Gun control is an issue that can get the guns out of the hands of people with threatening mental illnesses.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there should be stricter gun laws. It's too simple to obtain a gun in this country. There should at least be background checks. Also it shouldn't be blamed on people who have mental illnesses especially since less than 5% of crimes related to gun violence have been by mentally ill people.
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