Guns in the United States
The United States is a country founded on personal liberties. The second of those liberties, written into the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, is that “… the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” In other words, Americans have the right to own a gun. Today, 42% of adult Americans say they live in a house that has a gun, so it’s safe to say that guns are a fairly prominent part of most American’s lives¹ for better or worse. Read the facts, and you decide: Is gun violence a problem in America?
Statistics
In 2023, 46,728 people died from gun-induced causes in the United States. These deaths accumulated over many different incidents, including personal defense, shootings, homicides, and suicides ².
Concerns for gun violence in America are often brought up in the context of school settings. School shooting incidents have increased drastically over the past few years, with a whopping 349 shootings reported in 2023, compared to the 34 counted in 2013. With this rise in gun violence, many in the school setting around America, both students and staff, raise their concerns for the safety of their education. This has been a topic brought up for years and is now becoming even more hotly debated.
Student Voices
Students here at Walkersville expressed how they feel about their safety in public settings in relation to gun violence: “I’m worried about the security,” a sophomore points out that some places may not be equipped to deal with a shooter. Other students are more concerned with the rise of gun violence in general: “I am not worried, due to the fact that this is the society I and other children have grown up in.” This student honed in on the fact that this is normalized for them, especially with having practiced shooter drills so often from such a young age. Another student, Norah, shares, “I’ve been exposed to them my whole life … I’m not scared of guns; I’m scared of people who own guns.”
Recently, Evergreen High School in Evergreen Colorado, faced a shooting on September 10, 2025. On the same day, political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated on a college campus in Utah. Whether it were online or in person, many were discussing these two events, sharing opinions, and debating different things that were brought to attention that day. This discussion led into the school day — and plenty of students had some things to say: “I wasn’t aware of the school shooting that happened until very later in the day, … everyone was focused on the Charlie Kirk situation,” says Cole, highlighting the lack of coverage on Evergreen high school’s situation compared to Charlie Kirk. Many other students noticed the disparity in coverage, multiple students even pointing out that the murder of Melissa Hortman, as well as other political figures victimized by gun violence, had not created nearly as much of an uproar compared to Kirk’s story. Ben, another sophomore, states, “I think it was all bad … they should get equal representation,” referring to the media coverage on the Evergreen High school shooting and the murder of Kirk.
While the second amendment can be restricted in some states, either by way of felony charge or failing to meet licensing requirements, some believe that more precautions should be in place: “Maybe have more thorough background checks,” says Raice, a senior. Many students seemed to agree that the process of acquiring a gun should be more complicated. Some also believe that restricting gun laws could be a violation of our second amendment, an argument for this being that restricting guns because of the actions of offenders, also means taking them away from people who hold them to defend themselves. A freshman named Ari points out that the Amendment was written in the 1700’s and doesn’t always apply to modern contexts: “The second amendment was made like 300 years ago, [it’s not] super precise.” Other students take a more neutral stance, saying that guns should be restricted in areas with higher gun crime rates: “We need to lift [gun laws] where it needs to be lifted, and it does not need to be touched where it does not need to be touched,” one student says. Ellis, a senior, adds, “Amendments are one thing, but morals are a whole other thing, … [guns] need to not be restricted, but acknowledged.
Why does this matter?
Of course, there is so much to cover on gun violence. Many questions to answer, and compromises to seek. You must be thinking, why should I care, or what can I do? Well, you can take action. Whether you believe gun rights to be too strict, or too loose, you can put your beliefs out there. You could start a petition, protest, call your representatives and tell them what laws you want to see in place. You have a voice, and it matters! Remember to educate yourself and formulate your own opinion. After all, what your generation puts in place now will be the landscape for your children in the future.
Footnotes:
1 – For more information on views on guns in the United States, look through these stats: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/sr_24-07-24_guns_1/
2 – 56% of gun violence in the United States are suicide, it’s important we take the time to address the mental health side of gun violence; mental health does not inherently cause these violent actions. Learn more at https://everystat.org/ and https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5784421/
