I live in a small town in Pennsylvania. We recently had at serious threat of violence in our school. Luckily for us, the two students were caught and arrested before anyone got hurt. They are still being held in a juvenile detention facility. This really got me thinking.

Do you remember these events? 1999 Columbine High School,13 people dead; 2007 VA Tech, 32 dead; 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School, 27 dead, 21 of them first-graders. Is this what we want? Similar headlines for other schools? All of the locations of these atrocities and most public schools have one thing in common; they are in Gun Free Zones. Ironic, because the weapon of choice for all of these massacres was a gun. How do you feel now? Frightened? You should be. Gun control laws do NOT work. Chicago has the strictest gun control laws in the United States, and they have the highest murder rate (from 2012 statistics). All mass shootings (with one exception) since 1950 have happened in gun “free” zones. All of these would have ended much sooner if someone on the premises had a gun. Take a second to imagine an armed intruder in your own school. Now, wouldn’t you feel safer if your teacher were packing heat? Of course you would. So would anyone. Gun control laws DO NOT WORK. We need to expand legal gun ownership. Please consider these aspects: gun control laws will not prevent criminals from getting guns, the Second Amendment guarantees our right to keep and carry guns, and guns actually prevent crimes and stop crimes not prevented by the mere presence of said gun(s).

Gun control laws do not prevent criminals from acquiring guns. In Chicago, a handgun ban was placed upon the general populous, and the murder rate went up 40%. In Washington DC, they passed a gun law stating that all guns must be either disassembled or disabled with a trigger lock. During this gun ban, the murder rate increased 73%. Criminals will get guns by any means necessary. Criminals ignore laws, that is what makes them criminals. In Gun Free Zones, criminals will not care. They will still carry a gun/guns. There are many ways to get guns illegally. Have you ever heard of the black market? You can get more than kidneys off of it. The Sandy Hook shooter was not the legal owner of the guns he used but that did matter? No, it didn’t.

The 2nd Amendment guarantees our right to own and carry guns. In the words of our founding fathers’ committee, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms…” It says keep and bear. To bear is synonymous with to carry, which also means to have on one’s person. This does not mean only inside of your home. The Bill of Rights do not end when you step out of your front door. Does the freedom of speech only apply to speaking inside your home? The answer is, no. It is not enough just to keep or own, people should have to right to bear arms if they so choose. Here is the important part, the final three words of the 2nd Amendment are ”…shall not be infringed.” That means that this right should not be limited and the Supreme Court agrees. In the case of Washington DC v Heller, on June 26th 2008, the Supreme Court ruled these restrictions on handguns unconstitutional (5-4). In the case of Mc Donald v City of Chicago, the Supreme Court ruled that ban unconstitutional (5-4) (Agresti, 1-2). The Supreme Court consistently rules bans such as these unconstitutional. The founding fathers thought that this right was so important that they made it number 2.

Guns actually prevent crimes and stop those in progress. Many crimes can be prevented with the mere presence of a gun. United States citizens used guns 989,883 times for self defense in 2000. Many crimes can be stopped with the presence of a gun. States that allow registered citizens to carry concealed weapons have lower crime rates than those that don’t. In 2007, at the Salt Lake City Mall, an off-duty armed police officer stopped a mass shooting by killing the assailant. Five innocent people died but investigation later showed that the killer’s backpack was full of ammunition. Imagine how many people would have been killed if that officer did not have his gun at the mall. In Utah and Oregon, teachers are allowed to carry weapons in school. Neither of these states have ever had a school shooting spree because criminals know that the teachers might be armed. Criminals would clearly rather choose an unarmed victim.

In conclusion, you should remember that your school is in a Gun Free Zone due to unnecessary and often harmful gun laws. How safe do you feel now? Which sign would you rather have at your school? Gun control laws do not prevent criminals from getting guns. The 2nd Amendment guarantees our right to own and carry guns. Guns actually prevent crimes and stop those in progress. We need to eliminate gun control laws and expand legal gun ownership. We as students are the ones who are most at risk in school Gun Free Zones so we should have a say in these laws too. It is your safety, so you should speak out. You can start to make your opinion known by contacting your state Senator, Tell any adult who will listen that you think this sign (right) is way better than this one.(left)




Works Cited
"25 Deadliest Mass Shootings in U.S. History Fast Facts." CNN. 01 Sept. 2013. Cable News Network. 20 Feb. 2014 <http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/20-deadliest-mass-shootings-in-u-s-history-fast-facts/>.
"BalancedPolitics.org." - Gun Control (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against, Advantages & Disadvantages). 10 Feb. 2014 <http://www.balancedpolitics.org/gun_control.htm>.
"Concealed Guns ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. 21 Feb. 2014 <http://concealedguns.procon.org/>.
"Concealed Weapons Save Lives." NY Daily News. 22 Feb. 2014 <http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/concealed-weapons-save-lives-article-1.1121161>.
"Gun Control: Myths and Realities." Cato Institute. 20 Feb. 2014 <http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/gun-control-myths-realities>.
"How Scoop.it works." Scoop.it. 21 Feb. 2014 <http://www.scoop.it/t/gun-control-123/p/3570507858/2012/12/02/balancedpolitics-org-gun-control-pros-cons-arguments-for-and-against-advantages-disadvantages>.
"So-Called 'Gun Free Zones Never Protect the Innocent." Examiner.com. 22 Feb. 2014 <http://www.examiner.com/article/so-called-gun-free-zones-never-protect-the-innocent>.