Gun violence is a rampant problem sweeping our nation. As of May 2nd, a total of 177 mass shootings have taken place during 2021. But it is difficult to control a problem when one can’t find the source. This is why I asked people in our school to answer a few questions about this form of violence.

Many people who have taken this survey have a liberal lean to them, with about ⅔ ‘s of the survey takers having a liberal lean, whilst 11% being Conservative, and 22% being in other areas. Although this gives our school a more liberal lean, there are still those in other groups who are able to give the broader spectrum about people’s beliefs. 

When asked to describe the gun climate, many parts could be described into one of the taker’s ideas. “It is too partisan and there is no middle ground. These days, you are either for guns of all types or totally against guns.” And this somewhat rang true for each of the takers, to which the conservative takers speak about how weapons aren’t the problem, whilst the liberal takers speak about how there shouldn’t be as many weapons out to the public or not at all. Although there are some that cross party lines, it isn’t enough to make this bipartisan. With this being a partisan issue, there can be problems in trying to find a middle ground between these two sides, one that would help everyone involved. 

About what they would do about gun control, many answers were given. Implementing stricter laws, banning assault weapons, making compulsory classes for people buying guns? Each of these areas is something different, but each of them seems to be researched in their own way after having been looked at, and either way everything seems able to be done. It’s not as though anyone wants to take all weapons away, but instead want to make things less accessible. 

Finally, comes pieces about how restrictive gun laws are in this country. All responders agreed that current laws are not very restrictive, with different reasonings, such as “Most guns are legal” and “They do the bare minimum and have a bunch of loopholes.” With such a resounding answer, many people in the student body agree that our system with gun laws are very lax, though some are charged by it more than others.

At the end of the day, this is something that our population at school is beginning to have a say over. With gauging everything people have to say, we have a lot more to figure out when it comes to the laws put in place. But this also means people have strong convictions and opinions, and the voices of students are going to be heard more than ever now.