by Kaylee Borelli

The topic of gun laws is very sensitive. Some people believe that you should have the right to have a gun because of the Second Amendment, while others believe that there should be more restrictive laws because of gun violence and school shootings. I think that people should be allowed to have firearms, but they shouldn’t be handed to people who have the wrong intentions. 

According to CNN, as of September 23, 2025, there have been 53 school shootings in 2025. 27 of these shootings occurred on college campuses, and the other 26 were on K-12 school grounds.

The number of school shootings so far this year hasn’t been as high as in previous years, but this number is still too high. According to a CNN chart, the number of school shootings has mostly risen since 2008; last year had the highest number of school shootings, with 83 of them. But even before 2008, there were problems with school shootings.

For example, Columbine is one of the most notorious school shootings. It occurred on April 20, 1999, and led to 13 deaths, many injuries, and physical and emotional trauma to the survivors. As a result of this devastation, there was a national reassessment of school safety and a significant change in school security and policies.

While these changes seem like a good solution at the moment, these security measures aren’t working. I believe that, in addition to the security measures, there should be more action on gun laws and more research into how these tragedies can be prevented. 

Many gun laws have been proposed in the past, but these laws haven’t been passed, and if they are passed, they could cut down on school shootings. In other countries, the gun laws are much stricter, and there isn’t widespread availability and accessibility to firearms. In Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom together, there have only been five school shootings since 2009. In contrast, there have been 288 school shootings in America since 2009. This data alone should be enough for there to be a crackdown on gun laws, and still, it seems as if people don’t care enough to take action.

Another important part of preventing school shootings is preventing adolescents from having access to firearms.

According to the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Service, the average age of adolescent school shooters is 16 years old. Since these kids aren’t legally able to purchase a gun, they have to turn to stealing it from their parents. Most of the time, these guns are loaded and easily accessible, rather than being locked away. This poses extreme danger. Guns should be required to be locked up and in a safe place where a kid cannot access them. Studies have also shown that when children and teens live in a home with firearms, there is an increased risk of firearm injuries to them.

Since so many teens have had access to firearms, there have been huge problems along with it, like firearms being the number one cause of death in children and teens.

According to Harvard Medical School, since 2020, firearms have been the number one cause of death among children and teens. Along with those deaths, many children and teens also suffer from injuries as a result of firearms. These deaths and injuries cause mental health problems in both the families and the children. These mental health problems seriously affect the people suffering from them and can last a lifetime.

With all these dangers and risks, many students are nervous coming to school with the possibility of getting shot. It’s also not just students worried about a school shooting happening at their school; their parents also share the same concern.

In a Pew Research study, 57% of teens say that they are worried about the possibility of a shooting happening, with one-in-four of these students saying they are extremely worried about it happening. For parents, 63% said that they were somewhat worried about a shooting happening at their children’s school.

If action isn’t taken on gun laws, there will continue to be school shootings. It’s not just school shootings that are the problem, but also mass shootings in general are a major problem. Without any control over gun laws, students are afraid to go to school, and some people might be scared to leave their houses. These shootings have taken a toll on mental health, and if people really cared, something would have already been changed. I think it’s about time for important people to actually care about this problem, so that something can change, hopefully for the better.