In 2012, twenty children between the ages of six and seven were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Ten years later, in Uvalde, Texas, nineteen children between the ages of nine and eleven were killed at Robb Elementary School. In ten years, nothing was done to protect these children. And, due to this, according to research done by the New England Journal of Medicine, as of 2022, firearm-related occurrences are the leading cause of death for children under eighteen years old. 

As of March 29, there have been 130 mass shootings in the US in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. GVA, according to its website, analyzes and reports on gun violence incidents from over 7,500 sources daily and has “no affiliation with any advocacy organization”. GVA defines a mass shooting as an event where four or more people are shot. In just three months, 691 people have been either killed or injured in mass shootings across the US.

Many argue that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” If more guns equal more safety, US citizens would not be 25 times more likely to be killed in a gun-related incident than those in other high-income countries such as Canada, Australia, France, and Germany; this is according to both a study done in 2015 and information gathered by the Pew Research Center. In 2017, a survey was conducted by the Small Arms Survey that estimated that there are 120.5 guns for every 100 citizens in the United States. After the United States, the most estimated guns per 100 people was the Falkland Islands with an estimated 62.1 guns. However, as of 2017, there were only 3,000 people living in the country, meaning about 2,000 guns; the United States is estimated to be home to over 393 million guns.

Some have argued that the way to stop school shootings is to arm teachers or increase police presence in schools. Again, if more guns were the solution, we would live in the safest country in the world; and yet, just last week, three children and three adults were murdered. Teachers have one of the most important  jobs in the world. They should not have to worry about whether they will choose to protect themselves or their students in a shooting situation. Police presence in schools has not proven to stop casualties altogether, such as in Uvalde and Parkland, which should be the end goal. The answer is not more guns. The answer is to remove the problem in the first place: assault weapons.

It doesn’t have to be like this. It isn’t like this in any other country. Almost immediately following the Christchurch, New Zealand mass shooting in 2019, laws in that country were passed to ban semi-automatic firearms, assault rifles, and high-capacity magazines, according to the Library of Congress. Since this ban, I could find no reports of mass shootings in the country. In 1996, eighteen people were killed in a mass school shooting in Scotland; in 1997, the United Kingdom Parliament passed gun control legislation banning private ownership of semi-automatic weapons and began requiring registration for gun owners. In the 26 years since, there have been no other mass shootings in the country.

In 2004, an assault weapons ban that had been established in 1994 expired. In the time since then, research published has shown that the severity and frequency of mass shootings have increased since the ban expired. Proponents of the second amendment argue that gun control will take away one’s individual right to own and operate a gun; this is not true. There are ways for citizens to obtain guns in a way that is safe and legal and that do not put the lives of children at risk; for example, a national registry and licensing program for citizens who want to obtain a gun safely and responsibly and stricter background checks on those who wish to obtain guns. In many states, such as New Hampshire, it is more difficult to register to vote or to obtain a driver’s license than it is to purchase a weapon. 

The AR-15-style rifle, the semi-automatic weapon used in Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Uvalde, Buffalo, Aurora, and most recently, Nashville, was invented in 1950 as a semi-automatic version of rifles manufactured for use during the Vietnam War. Though the rifles that are popular today are not automatic like the ones used during wartime, there are legal devices sold that can approximate the same automation. There is no reason why American citizens need to have access to weapons, designed to kill people, that can “blow apart a skull and demolish vital organs,” according to a Washington Post article published on March 27. While doing research for this article, I found that I could simply Google an AR-15-style rifle, add it to my cart, pay for it, and arrange to go pick it up. Buying a semi-automatic weapon should not be as easy as buying jeans.

Instead of focusing efforts on banning weapons that are killing children, there are efforts in some states to ban certain books from school libraries due to content that is considered inappropriate. During a March 29 House Oversight Committee meeting, I believe that Florida Representative Jared Moscowitz said it best: “You know why you don’t hunt with an AR-15 with a deer? Because there’s nothing left. And there’s nothing left of these kids when people go into school and murder them while they’re trying to read. You guys are worried about banning books. Dead kids can’t read.”

We need comprehensive gun legislation. For the kids of Sandy Hook who should be graduating high school this year. For the kids of Parkland who should be graduating college this year. For every single person who has been robbed of a full and meaningful life due to the accessibility of semiautomatic weapons. I truly cannot believe that we live in a world where a Congressman can yell “children are dying” in the halls of the United States Capitol and there is no comprehensive legislation being passed to fix it.