Enough Is Enough

I recently participated in a rally for gun control and school safety.  It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, but a lot of people have been saying many different things about the whole situation.  I know what I fight for and, while others may not think that it is right, that doesn't mean that I am not allowed to have an opinion.  I have heard people ask why we were even out there if we couldn't even vote yet?  But what they don't understand is that a lot of us were out there to try and get our voices heard BECAUSE we can't vote yet.  This is our way to try and make a change.  We are the next generation of voters and we're ready to make a change.  Just because some of us aren't old enough to vote doesn't mean we can't fight for our voices to be heard.

I live in a town full of people who hunt and own guns that they keep in their homes.  So when a lot of them hear that we are trying to get more gun control, they immediately get defensive without listening to a single word of our side.  I'm not against guns.  What I'm against is people being killed at school.  I'm against being afraid of getting shot while I am trying to get an education.  This has gotten way too out of hand.  Too many innocent people are losing their lives and it needs to stop.

For me, I'm not fighting for all of your guns to be taken away from you.  My grandpa used to hunt a lot when I was a kid, and many people in my boyfriend's family have guns.  I don't think that banning all guns is the right way to handle this issue.  I think that it starts with having more regulation and background checks when someone buys a gun.  At the rally, a girl told her story of before she got help for her depression, and how, if she would have had access to a gun, there's no telling what would have happened.  Guns should not be in the hands of people who are not mentally stable enough to handle them. There should be more testing for people who want a gun to make sure they are ready and okay to have one.  Buying a gun shouldn't be as easy as walking into a gun show and coming out 15 minutes later with a gun.

Another way to help this issue is to get rid of violent military weapons that many people in America have.  I completely understand having guns for hunting and protection, or even if you want to go shooting for fun.  But military grade weapons, such as the AR-15 that took the lives of 17 people last week in Florida and 26 people in Sandy Hook in 2012, are extremely dangerous, especially if they get into the wrong hands.  Why anyone would need a weapon of this destructive degree is beyond me.  But I think that the fact that they are so dangerous, yet so easy to obtain is part of the problem.

Take a look at the children around you.  Whether it be your kids, siblings, nieces, nephews, etc., you probably care about them.  How would you feel if they went off to school one day and never came home?  How would you feel if someone important to you went to a place to learn and was killed?  This is a reality that many American families have faced and it's time for us to stand up and do something about it.  No child should be afraid of going to school.  We may not all have the same opinions, but I do know that we all care deeply for the kids in our lives.  So now we ask: what are you going to do to make school safe and save the lives of students across America?  We're all tired of being scared for our lives every single time we walk into school.  Now is the time to make a change.  Enough is enough.