I will never forget where I was on December 14th 2012. I was heading home after a long day at school. When I arrived home and turned on the TV there it was, the headline that read “26 killed in school shooting, 20 children and 6 adults. The color faded from my face as I covered my mouth in horror as I thought to myself “What kind of monster would do such a thing?” There I sat for two hours paralyzed on the couch as I took this heinous crime in. I later that day found out that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. I had numerous conversations via text with my friends as the information and statistics became available. My family and I were in a somber mood for the rest of the night, feeling a great amount of grief for each person killed. I woke up the next morning refreshed but not without some sadness. At Ruby Tuesday for dinner I had a huge conversation with my mother about gun control and steps the nation should take to prevent such a tragedy. It was then at the table that I realized, these things don’t just happen.
The NRA has been promoting the right to bear arms for years. Their policy has been “We get to arm ourselves with whatever weapons available and you can’t take them away from us ”This way of thinking is incredibly dated. When the 2nd amendment was created in the late 18th century, there were no auto or semi automatic weapons that could give one man the power of thirty. If there were, maybe our forefathers would’ve thought twice. Why on earth would you need that amount of fire power for “personal protection?” They are called assault weapons for a reason. Civilians don’t need access to military weapons and armaments; they’re not fighting a war. I feel relieved that stores like Dicks Sporting Goods and Wal-Mart are banning the sale of firearms until the government makes a new gun control law.
So what did this heinous incident change? To put it lightly, almost everything about school security. Even now a week later school management and staff are implementing locks on the main entrance and a possibility for more police officers to patrol the school. Parents are now more concerned with the safety of their children at school. This incident will always be looked back on as the straw that broke the camel’s back about school safety. Remember how school used to be, because it will never be the same.
