Gun violence, we’ve all heard of it, and as an American you have probably lived it or sat on the couch listening to the news about a new incident near you. But, what is gun violence exactly, and what is its cause?
The literal definition of gun violence is simple, violence created from the use of a gun, or “gun-related violence”.
Because of the United States’ second amendment, which grants the right to bear arms, guns have become more accessible to the general public. Denver specifically, allows these guns to be owned by the general public:
Handguns and Pistols
Full length Rifles and Shotguns
Antique firearms (made before 1898)
Firearms with a barrel longer than 12 inches
Firearms defined as relics or curios
You may own a firearm at 18, but to buy one you must be 21+ according to Colorado Laws. When buying, you must be a resident, must be 21 or older, and have a thorough background check before purchasing.
When School Shootings REALLY became a problem
Everybody knows about the infamous 1999 Columbine High School Massacre. On April 20, 1999 in Columbine High School, located in Littleton Colorado, two teenage perpetrators who will not be named [out of respect for the victims] came wielding an Action Shotgun, Handgun, AR-15 Rifle, High point Carbine, Glock Pistol, multiple knives, and a self made propane tank bomb, and began their plan almost 1 year in the making. The two started shooting outside of the school, moving into the library where they mercilessly killed 13 people including one teacher, while wounding over 20 others as stated by History.com. They then shot themselves in an act of suicide. When this story went nationwide, it made the country freeze in its tracks. Many policies like Gun safety laws, Suicide prevention, School Violence Prevention, Lock Down Drills, and a program called Safe2Tell, which is now known by every Colorado student, were created in attempt to limit the amount of instances similar to the Columbine Massacre. It’s debatable by each person on if these policies have really helped prevent extreme school shootings.
Easy Gun Accessibility
School shootings are one of the most serious and detrimental issues in America. It stirs up not only political debates, but also personal morals and ethics of each person into the topic. Since gun laws vary from state to state, the variation of legal guns and restrictions when purchasing one can vary. Because of this, you may see more or less instances in certain states.
edweek.org states that 4 out of 10 parents own a gun, this means around 40% of children live in a house with a gun. More specifically, around 4.6 Million children live in a household with an unlocked and loaded gun of some sort according to sandyhookpromise.org.
Moreover, Guns are the leading cause for adolescent deaths in America, as kff.org shows that after 2020, the highest cause of adolescent death is firearms, compared to 6 other of the highest causes. On that account, you are 5 times more likely to die by a firearm than die by drowning as stated by sanyhookpromise.org.
These statistics are where gun regulation becomes an ethical issue and a large debate. As some call gun-related deaths an “epidemic”.
Mass Shootings in America
Gun violence isn’t just seen in schools though, it’s a problem in social gatherings in general around the country. According to bbc.com, all the way to September 5th, 2024, there have been 385 mass shootings in America. But this number is on the low end.
2023 had around 640-50.
2022 had around 620-30
2021 had close to 700
2020 had around 600
(Info from bbc.com and Gun violence Archive)
Mass shootings have skyrocketed after 2020, in which researchers have pointed their fingers at difficult finances, political issues, and overall relationships or association with certain people as some of the causes of these statistics .
GW Student Interviews
To get a sense of people’s thoughts and how impactful this is for an everyday individual, I decided to interview and ask the same questions to a few teachers and students. Here were the questions asked and responses received.
“Have you ever been in a lockdown? If so, how many times and what for?”
Six of the people said that they have been in at least one lockdown. Two of them said they have never been in a lockdown before. That’s 6/8 or 75% of people.
“How often do you think about a perpetrator coming in school with a weapon like a shotgun, handgun, knife or any other?”
“Every day.” – Ms. Butterfield, an art teacher at GW
“Pretty much everyday, I think especially recently, it’s been a lot more of a thought than ever.” – Anonymous student
“Every single day, every hour, every class, every period” – Fatimata Fall
“What do you think we should do to make sure we implement more safety and security for children and staff in school?”
“Well, now they check our ID. So I think that’s one way, or people that have been seen with a weapon before just get checked.” – Angelica Sarkisova
“I think we should have background checks more on people who are security guards, because I feel like a perpetrator could also be inside of the school.” – Valerie Castillo
“Do you think we should allow more freedom for gun owners and why? Or should we become more strict about gun policies and if so, how?”
“I mean, I understand that there is some intrigue to owning something like that [a gun]. But in terms of using it [an assault weapon like an AR-15] for self-defense, I think it should be strictly military. I also think that we need to start having gun owners go through some kind of psychological or mental test.” – Ms. Butterfield
“I would say that it’s kind of a hard question. Because a lot of the people who already own guns, they don’t have free range to do whatever they want with it. And then there are those who don’t have guns who wish to have one, but it’s even harder for them to have one, so there’s no right answer. “ – Amaiya Moses-Durham
“We should become more strict and I don’t know exactly how we could do it. But I think it definitely needs to happen, because there’s no way kids at our age are able to have such easy access to guns” – Anonymous student, Annabelle Samland was quick to agree with this student.
“There’s been a rise in shootings and adolescent access to guns. What reason do you think or feel could be behind this?”
“I think it has a lot to do with the parents. I think if parents have easy access to guns and then a kid grows up in that environment, then a kid is going to think it’s okay to do those things.” – Anonymous Student
“I personally think that when you have thoughts where you want to hurt people, most of the time, people don’t really take you seriously, they think it’s a joke. And I feel like it should be taken more seriously and we should have more outlets for people who have those thoughts rather than the first thought being school shootings.” – Valerie Castillo
“Have you ever reported to Safe2Tell about a gun violence issue or threat?”
All 8 have never reported any gun violence issue or threat to Safe2Tell
Sum up
It is important we challenge and question the legal authority in certain issues, Though the politics of gun violence and regulation is very opinion based, we can push to make schools and the US in general a safer place for its citizens.
Writers Notes and Remembrance
If you are threatened or your school is threatened, please report to your school, authorities, and Safe2Tell. Threats can always be real, don’t risk your life or others.
As a student myself, it’s easy to have my own personal opinions on the matter. Not only do I have my own political views, but my own morals, opinion, and ethics come into play when talking about this. I believe that it is best to not bring personal opinions into the writing, and to be strictly educational, factual and statistical.
But since this is not the main part of the article, I feel it is in my best interest to not only show my support for stricter gun policies, and further protection of American children and people in general. But, also to honor the recent deaths of the 4 souls who were mercilessly murdered in the Apalachee School Shooting. Say their names:
Mason Schermerhorn
Christian Angulo
Richard Aspinwall
Christina Irimie
