Last night on the news, I heard of yet another school shooting in Florida, USA. I saw an emotional debate on the topic in which some students pleaded for the gun laws to change. The theme that came through was that the culprits can literally walk into a grocery store with an id book and buy a mass murder weapon. I always say that the people who are affected most by a situation should have a large role to play in the decision making. If students, as a majority, want things to change, maybe the government should respect that. #NeverAgain is the movement initiated by the students themselves that, according to Time.com (2018), is adding a powerful new dimension to the conversation about gun violence.
I must say that this is really a tricky one. I have spoken to so many Americans about this, and the opinions vary so much. Some say that the gun law is there to protect the US citizens, because criminals will be able to get a hold of weapons regardless of the laws and that with the gun law, they will not be able to obtain a gun that easily to protect themselves. Others say that guns should be completely outlawed, and that anyone with a gun should be heavily prosecuted. Others like the happy medium option, where stricter gun laws are put in place to prevent any old bloke on the street to obtain a licence.
Whatever is happening currently, is not working. Yes, maybe it is important to have a weapon to protect your family, but do you know how to use it? Is it locked away in a safe? Realistically, there are more cases of accidents and unintended use of weapons that result in fatalities than there are cases where these were used in self defense.
President Donald Trump stated yesterday that he wants to arm Educators with weapons to defend themselves and their students. This is so controversial, and there is definitely some thought that was put into that. However, militarizing schools might be more damaging than the good that it can do.
One thing is for sure, the amount of bullying that occurs in schools is unacceptable, I am not saying that this justifies the shootings in the least bit, however, if we could be kind to everyone, maybe those who have the tendencies to murder might be taken back by the kindness and not do what they were going to do.
If I may urge those who have thought of doing such a horrendous thing to please consider the lives of those around you. People do care about you. I do understand that people can be complete monsters some time, but there are people out there who really care about you. Maybe you haven't met that person yet, maybe you have, but let us all be the person that you would like to be a friend to.
My prayers and thoughts go out to those who have been affected by the most recent shooting.
References
Image credit: (Samuel Corum--Anadolu Agency/Getty Images), also found online at : http://time.com/5169436/florida-shooting-kids-gun-control-debate/
http://time.com/5169436/florida-shooting-kids-gun-control-debate/