Students Fight For Gun Control

Nyla Howell, Staff Writer
February 28, 2018

After a horrific high school shooting  in Parkland, Florida on February 14th, students are now voicing their concerns on the easy access of guns in our country.

At  Stoneman Douglas High School,  17 students died when one of the students opened fire during the school day. After the tragic event  students were in   traumatized  when the officials arrived.  According to the New York Post, some are calling it one of the deadliest high school shootings in history.

Students have started to voice their opinion on gun laws and control. According to a CNN news article, “They were angry and frustrated. And given the chance to face the lawmakers and others who can make their lives safer, high school students who a week ago were running from gunfire pointedly demanded change Wednesday night from Washington and the National Rifle Association.” The students had the opportunity to ask questions to Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson and  NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch about their opinion on gun control. It lead to some tension during the Town hall meeting on live television.

After the town hall,  “Wednesday night followed days of sit-ins, walkouts and demonstrations in solidarity with survivors of the massacre.” This started protests from high school students in other cities across the country.  Students started to walk out of schools. According to the Time Magazine,  “Hundreds of students from Maryland schools left class to rally at the U.S. Capitol. Hundreds more filed out of their schools in cities from Chicago to Pittsburgh to Austin, Texas, often at the lunch hour.” However, some places are not supporting the movement. “Superintendent Curtis Rhodes, of Texas’ Needville Independent School District, said students who left class would be suspended for three days, even with permission from their parents.”

Students seemed to have different opinions on gun control and having a gun in school.

 One student, Edeva Ejegreh a freshman, said: “I think gun control is bad because in the world of now I think civilians should be able to have guns and know how [to] use it not necessarily use it all the time but should be able to use it when the situation calls for it.”
Another student, Leo Kuo, a sophomore said “In my opinions, gun control should be more strict.Reducing availability of guns will reduce the number of both homicides and suicides, guns are rarely used for self-defense, and the 2nd amendment is irrelevant in the 21st century.
According to a Lancent study, “universal background checks could reduce gun deaths by as much as 57%.”
Finally, Angel Bercian, a junior, said “Well I guess there should be more control on who gets the guns and the loopholes within the system as well as more checks because it’s not the guns that kill people its people who kill people so they need more checks and etc to ensure that the bad guys don’t get guns.” Gun control seems to remain a controversial topic even for students.
In response to the fight for gun control, students at ERHS have also planned a walk out in the near future to support the movement.