Guns have always been a controversial topic regarding the safety of Americans, but especially students and teachers in public schools. Following the death of Charlie Kirk on a school campus, many continue to argue whether guns are the issue, or if the shooter is.
The federal government having passed the Guns Free School Zone Act, yet the law was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in US v. Lopez. As a result, many states have implemented their own set of regulations regarding the accessibility of firearms in a school zone.
California is viewed as one of the states with the strictest policies on guns. The process to redeem a gun is strenuous and long; however, this is used to mitigate guns being used for violent reasons. Within schools, guns are typically prohibited except in the hands of a law enforcement officer or a person has permission from a school district.
Similarly, a majority of other states, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, also prohibit gun use on campus. Those that do not have as strict enforcement are more vulnerable to more shootings. Texas is the leading state with the most number of school shootings. This can be attributed to their lenient enforcement of firearms that contrasts other states.
Hallie Harding (12) shares, “Guns should be heavily regulated, or if anything banned because why are kids being taught lockdown drills in a learning environment and at such a young age? We should not have to worry about perpetrators with guns hurting us whether it is in California or anywhere else in the world.”
As of Sept. of 2025, there have been 34 school shootings in the United States. Texas has the highest number of shootings to this day being six, while California is second with four and Florida is third with three.
The fact that California still ranks in second place despite their stricter policies indicates that as long as people can get their hands on a gun, these shootings are inevitable. Additionally, the preexistent role of guns has made one of the leading causes among deaths in American children from shootings.
“I think that people who are violent are the direct cause of these shootings, but if we were to ban firearms then we would protect our safety significantly more. People should take way more action to fix this issue regarding school shootings because anyone and everyone is susceptible to being a victim of a gun,” says Camila Abarca (12).
As Abarca shares, guns should be banned in America as it will prevent the wrong individuals from obtaining a weapon. The government is unable to detect exactly someone’s interior motives to get a gun; however, authorities do not have to gamble with the chance of someone causing a shooting if there is no firearm to start with in the first place.
The emotional and physical trauma that children and adults have faced from these school shootings in the US is extremely devastating. After a massive traumatic event like a shooting occurs, many people have difficulty moving on with their lives.
While firearms are obtainable, school shootings will not end. As a nation, people should come together and unite against one of America’s biggest threats: guns.
