On December 15, the 10th grade had a thought-provoking and informative discussion about gun control, led by Taylor Sitomer ’18 and Samantha Schwartz ’18. Student Council President, Chelsea Gardner’18, came up with the idea to have this discussion. Taylor and Samantha facilitated the conversation about the many tragic gun shootings that have occurred in the recent years. They started the conversation by reading a short blurb about the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, from The Skimm, which sparked the discussion about what preventative measures should be taken around gun control laws.

Guns used in San Bernardino shooting. The weapons included rifles and handguns. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

After Taylor and Samantha asked if the sale of guns should be more regulated with tighter laws, Sophie Johnson ‘18 responded, “Guns in general are dangerous, so gun laws should definitely be tighter. We live in a world where not a day goes by without someone being shot somewhere, which is a huge problem. We can’t fight fire with fire, something must be done to fix this problem.” 

Credit: Gun Violence Archive. This chart shows the number of incidents and deaths from 2015.
Credit: Gun Violence Archive. This chart shows the number of incidents and deaths from 2015.

“The Constitution was written a long time ago, so those laws have to change because times have changed,” said Christina Bowllan’18, “People can’t always go back to the Constitution as a justification for their actions.” The sophomores discussed how they interpret the Constitution’s stance on gun use among citizens. The Second Amendment of the Constitution, reads [pullquote]“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”.[/pullquote] Some claim that making stricter gun control laws would infringe upon the rights given to us in the Second Amendment. On the other hand, pro-gun control advocates think that guns are unsafe and need stricter regulation to ensure more safety.

Other events such as the Columbine High School Massacre, Sandy Hook shooting, and the Virginia Tech shooting were mentioned during the discussion. According to the Gun Violence Archive, in 2015 alone, there were 330 mass shootings in America.

Chloe Stern ‘18 added, “We definitely need tighter gun control laws. As we progress as a country, our laws and regulations should progress as well.” On January 5, 2016, President Barack Obama announced his outline for gun control. Some of his proposals include mandatory licenses for gun sellers, profiles on potential gun buyers, and new background check requirements to strengthen the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System).

Chloe and other sophomores shared similar views as Obama; most agreed that there should be stricter gun control laws and more thorough background checks on buyers. 

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