Argumentative Essay
Gun Violence in America Schools
Gun violence in American schools has been occurring more frequently in recent years, thus becoming a social epidemic. The first school shooting in recent memory occurred in 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Eighteen-year-old Eric Harris and seventeen-year-old Dylan Klebold walked into their high school armed with several guns and murdered thirteen people before committing suicide (Lickel et al.1). Since then, several more school shootings have occurred involving high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools, such as Virginia Tech in 2007, Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012, Santa Fe high school in 2018, Robb elementary school in 2022, and many other schools across America. A key factor contributing to increased gun violence in American schools is the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and federal laws that guarantee the unlimited and unrestricted right of citizens above eighteen years old to bear arms (Augustine 2). To solve this social epidemic, Americans must urge Congress to repeal these laws and replace them with new laws which would make it harder to purchase guns by instituting universal background checks, restricting the caliber of guns individuals are allowed to purchase, increasing the minimum age to purchase a gun, and mandating mental health evaluations before an individual is allowed to purchase a gun.
The first step in tackling the issue of gun violence in schools involves Congress repealing the Second Amendment and all federal laws that allow individuals to buy guns without significant restrictions and implementing universal background checks for all prospective gun buyers. This would prolong the process involved in purchasing a gun, thus discouraging indiscriminate purchase of guns. This would in turn decrease gun violence in schools. Similar measures have been implemented in countries like the United Kingdom and Australia leading to the complete eradication of gun violence in their schools (Fisher 2). Thus, it is clear that if these measures are implemented in the United States, a massive decline in gun violence in schools will be recorded. Advocates for gun rights argue that strict gun control laws could lead to the oppression of citizens by the government and that in any case "guns do not kill people, crazy people kill people" (Hodges et al.1). They often point to the fact that while gun violence has decreased in countries with strict gun laws, knife crimes have been on the increase (Gibson 1). While all violence is abhorrent, whether committed by gun or knife, it is worth pointing out that the number of victims in a knife crime is significantly less, with about twenty people murdered by gun for every one person murdered by a knife (Harms et al. 3). In addition, restraining an assailant with a knife is much easier than restraining an assailant with an assault rifle. In many cases, an assailant with a knife can be subdued even before the police arrive (Weitzel et al.6). Thus, implementing these measures would decrease the rate and scale of gun violence in American schools.
Private individuals should not be allowed to purchase assault rifles and other high-caliber guns as these weapons are more appropriate for war environments, not in American cities and schools. In the recent school shooting at Robb elementary school in Uvalde, although there was an armed police officer charged with protecting the school, he was helpless in disarming the shooter who had much more sophisticated guns (Weitzel et al.6). If stricter gun laws were in place, the suspect would not have had access to the high caliber guns that he had, and the school police officer would have been able to neutralize him. This is why Congress needs to repeal the Second Amendment and all federal laws that allow individuals to purchase assault rifles and other high-caliber guns without significant restrictions and replace them with stricter laws. This would ensure that weapons of war are not on American streets and schools. In doing so, an event like the school shooting at Robb elementary school could potentially be prevented.
The minimum age for purchasing guns should be increased to twenty-five years old as studies have shown that the brain of people less than twenty-five years old is still developing, particularly the pre-frontal cortex which plays a key role in decision-making. “It is well established that the brain undergoes a “rewiring” process that is not complete until approximately 25 years of age” (Arain et al. 2). In some states like Texas, the minimum age to purchase a handgun is twenty-one years old, while the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 assault-style rifle is only eighteen years old (Kellner 2). In the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, it was revealed that the gunman had legally purchased two AR-15 assault-style rifles just a few days after his eighteenth birthday (2). With these two weapons of war, he murdered twenty-one people and seriously wounded another twenty-two, including his grandmother whom he shot at home before going on the shooting rampage at the school (2). This tragedy could have been prevented if the minimum age to buy this type of weapon was higher as he would not have been able to purchase those guns.
Mental health checks and psychological assessments should be included in the screening process for new gun ownership applications. While society should not stigmatize people with mental health illnesses, it must not disregard the fact that many school shootings are committed by individuals with a history of mental health illnesses. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology revealed that a significant number of individuals responsible for mass shootings in the United States had unaddressed mental health conditions (Ira et al.1) Adequate steps must also be taken to ensure that people who already own guns are subject to periodic mental health assessments to continuously assess their fitness to own guns. Appropriate background checks and mental health evaluations by licensed psychologists or psychiatrists should be conducted on individuals who intend to purchase a firearm to evaluate their mental state, history of mental illness, and predisposition to violence. By so doing, individuals who could potentially become school shooters could be identified early and interventions instituted. This would over time greatly reduce gun violence in American schools.
In conclusion, the social epidemic of gun violence in American schools is a serious issue that must be tackled urgently to prevent further loss of innocent lives. Policymakers, educators, parents, and students are all stakeholders in this discussion and must work together to find lasting solutions to the problem. Repealing the Second Amendment of the Constitution, restricting the sales of high-caliber guns, increasing the minimum legal age to purchase guns, and implementing mental health checks prior to gun purchases are some of the vital steps that need to be taken if Americans must overcome this social epidemic.
