Guns are killing students,  killing adults in the school, and causing trauma to those around the shooting areas. One shot at a time, people are causing those around them to distrust one another. 

Just some of the many problems in the United States have been shown as easy to cover up. Those problems are ones that include abortion, transgender Americans, and not focusing on guns. Guns have been a huge problem for America.

There have been 13 deaths caused by school shootings in the United States in 2023. 6 of those were during a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee on March 27. William Kinney (9), Hallie Scruggs (9), Evelyn Dieckhaus (9), Mike Hill (61), Cynthia Peak (61), and Katherine Koonce (60) all passed away after being shot by the 28-year-old gunman.

Many senators, representatives, and other government officials speak about these situations but push to have these shootings happen again. Andy Ogles (R), who represents the 5th district, tweeted a statement about the shooting the morning of. 

“We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost,” was stated in a tweet from Ogles’ . Not everything will be stopped with a thought or prayer, and nothing will be fixed with one. What is done, is done and there is no turning back. 

Rep. Ogles has voted on 4 different laws going towards less gun control recently. The four laws were ‘Expand concealed carry from handguns to all firearms,’ ‘Lower age requirements for concealed carry,’ ‘Permit carriers to bring handguns on college campuses,’ and ‘Allow school faculty to carry concealed handguns at school.’

Having representatives in Congress that support things like Ogles does, we will get nowhere in helping our country. With representatives from all around the country supporting things like the expansion of concealed carry, the country has no hope of stopping gun violence.

This is not the only thing that people in Congress have done that leaves Americans worried. Earlier this year, different representatives were seen wearing AR-15-styled pins in replacement for the typical American Flag. There was never a true answer for why the representatives were wearing them, but it only leaves Americans to assume the worst.

Having the right to bear arms in America was an amendment that was exploited in a way no one expected. Over 348,000 students have been affected by gun violence in school since the 1999 Columbine shooting.

Shootings have rapidly increased over the years. In 2021 there were nearly 250 shootings and 303 shootings in 2022. 

The NRA (National Rifle Association) tweeted out on March 26 something that hurt a lot of Americans. “An armed society is a polite society,” were the words that were spoken on the tweet. This was posted a day before the Nashville shooting. Having guns constantly around will not protect the way it needs to when the world is only getting more dangerous with guns in sight. 

Having more arms to fight with is not going to keep the people in the country safe. What will keep the country safe is learning to love each other and not use deadly force when the time feels right. 

Having guns be so accessible to everyone makes a safe environment something that will never be found. Guns are bought left and right, the seller never knowing what will happen once that gun is sold. 

Background checks and harsh rules need to be put in place in order to keep others safe. We focus too much on who is behind the gun and not the gun itself. Keeping guns in the reach of anyone is what is killing innocent kids, not the exact person behind them.

Better laws need to be put in place in order to keep everyone safe and out of harm’s way. 

It’s time to put an end to gun violence, it’s time to keep students and teachers safe, it’s time to not worry about who might walk through the door, it’s time to protect the innocent lives of those in our country, it’s time to give school faculty a sense of safety, and it’s time to give these innocent kids their childhood back.