In the wake of the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High  School, the consistently reoccurring American debate over the Second amendment is brought back into the picture. This time, however, the students of MSDHS chose to rise against the ‘thoughts and prayers’ sent their way and fight back at gun violence in America. Igniting the flame for what became a loud conversation in schools, mostly led by students, the survivors of the February 14th crisis inspired marches, walkouts, and mass social media trends. It’s time to ask now, how do students here, at our school, feel about gun violence and gun control?*

Noted Republican and proud 2nd Amendment supporter Robert Klein, says “Drugs are illegal however criminals still find a way to easily get them. Gun control won’t take guns out of criminals hands, only the law abiding citizens that criminals prey on.” 

Micah Wilborn stated, “While I support the use of weapons for self defense and hunting, and even recreational shooting, I do not believe high capacity assault weapons of any kind should be available to the general public, as it can and will put those weapons in the hands of dangerous people.”

When asked about Gun Control, Jenna Mourn says, “My opinion is that I believe more safety precautions can be made to make it less prevalent in society, but there isn’t a need to take them away from everyone. Bad people who want to harm others will always find a way, whether it’s sold in a store or illegally. People have their rights, and I don’t think they should be impinged upon because many people overlook other situations in which “good people” save people with their guns also.”

Maddie Doerr says, “We are all on the same side here. Nobody wants another school shooting; we just can’t decide on how to prevent them. Together, conservatives and liberals need to make a compromise on how best to fix this problem. It’s clear what we have isn’t working, yet guns are a part of America. We can solve this problem with rational thinking.”

Victoria Lambos falls somewhere in between the extremes, ” I don’t know exactly what changes should be made to the policies (about gun control)… but I do know that something needs to be done.”

As you can see, the students here at Air Academy have split opinions on how America’s government should be handling the recent mass shootings in relation to the Second Amendment and all things gun related. Sure there will never be a perfect solution to fix and eliminate gun violence, but all the students of Air Academy can do is stay politically active with what they believe and be open minded to hear what others think.