Following the harrowing event at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people died and numerous were injured on Wednesday, the debate about gun violence and control over these weapons is at the forefront of news once again.
This is the 18th school shooting this year, and we are only in February. On average, in America there is one school shooting a week, and although the USA makes up 5% of the world’s population, it has 35-50% of the world’s civilian-owned guns.
Although the gun laws vary by state, in general it is shockingly easy to obtain these lethal weapons. Florida - where the recent massacre took place - prohibits openly carrying guns in public, but 31 states in America allow openly carrying a gun without a license or permit.
The gunman, Nikolas Cruz was only 19 years of age, and so questions need to be raised in relation to America’s gun laws, as someone can buy and use a gun aged 18, but they cannot legally drink/ purchase alcohol until 21, for example.
Despite the ongoing push for the changing of gun laws, it it unlikely that gun control will ever happen. The same arguments happen after every major attack - Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, PULSE Nightclub, and San Bernardino - and yet nothing has been implemented. Largely because of a opposition from the NRA (National Rifle Association), who have a large influence over political leaders.
In 1996, Thomas Hamilton killed 18 people in the Dunblane school massacre in Scotland. Since then, the UK gun laws have been tightened, and we now have some of the toughest controls in the world. For example, it is necessary to have checks on your criminal record and mental health. Whereas, in the US it is a person’s constitutional right to ‘keep and bear arms’. Since then, apart from terrorism, there has only been one further gun massacre in the UK (Cumbria shootings, where 12 people died in 2010).
As a student myself, it is frightening to think that these horrifying events are a genuine fear for many in America. I am thankful for the fact that I can go to school, safely knowing that the chance of this happening in the UK is almost impossible.
By Molly Macfarlane, St. Philomena’s School
