30 mass shootings, all in just the time span of 2 months throughout the year of 2018.

Over 317 in the year of 2017.

Families, friends, loved ones…all just statistics on a website or in a newspaper. What has come of America? Why can we not end this? When will enough be enough?

Children, teachers, and people in general should not have to live in fear while away from home, and politicians should not be able to just sit back and watch it happen while collecting a large paycheck.

The most recent mass shooting that had taken place at Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, has struck a major chord with the world and now is the time to stand up for our safety.

Two sides to every story

There are almost always two sides to every story; the parkland school shooting has many yet only two are more prevalent than the rest.  There is the left side that feels as if the shooter himself, Nikolas Cruz, is to blame and that his mentality was not stable, causing him to commit such a violent act. Then there is the right side, where people are calling for stricter gun laws by the NRA because they believe that the easy access to guns are to blame. Notice, I did not say guns are to blame specifically. This view may be skewed by social media, but the majority feel as if guns are okay to have if safely given to a trained individual. Although the shooter may have been psychologically damaged, I still believe that there should be no room for mercy for the unlawful abuse of weapons that was presented to the world; this goes for all mass shootings that have occurred. I am obviously siding with the right side of this story, as I believe the NRA has accomplished nothing in achieving safety for their consumers and that we need a change in our gun laws. Again, this does not necessarily mean that guns are the only thing to blame, and I do not think we should do away with selling guns, but the easy access to such powerful things is not good for our country. Do you like being known for being the #1 country for mass shootings? No? I thought so.

Background Check

Are you 18? Do you have access to the internet? If yes, you too can purchase a weapon. Although many states do have regulated laws to process background checks to civilians, however some do not, this is only for public gun shops and federal dealers. Aside from that, there are private gun owners online that do not have to follow any of these rules, allowing people to purchase a gun with ease and I do not just mean handguns, semi-automatic rifles can be bought and even modified too. A lot of people call this the, “gun-show loophole.” The main focus of the world is shifted towards the NRA (National Rifle Association) for allowing these criminals access to firearms. This is because they regulate all the laws that enforce restrictions on these guns. They are in a constant fight right now with students across the world and they will not budge.

Blood Money

The NRA are your typical politicians: powerful, lazy, and rich. While children and adults are dying, the only thing they seem to give are their, “thoughts and prayers,” while still collecting a fat sum of cash. No matter how many students attack the morality of their jobs on public news, they still seem to not be able to stop receiving paychecks for these unlawful acts that are under their federal gun laws. The NRA likes to argue that it is not their guns that are to blame and most citizens can agree on this to some terms. But, how could it be that a 19 year old, who might I add already had been under the digression of the FBI and local law enforcement, had been able to purchase an AR-15 and bring it into a high school?

Fear

We are now living in a world that is controlled by fear. We wake up every day not knowing if it will be our last. We should not have to live like this. Some of the people affected by these crimes are not even graduated from high school, they don’t even get a real chance to even experience the real world. It is a shame. I do not feel safe anymore, and neither does anyone else. A change needs to happen.

Enough is Enough

Yes, we can protest too.

It is about time that we stand up for our own safety and bring about change in our lives. We need to stand up against the evil minority that controls this country and take matters into our own hands. We live in the United States, a country that was built on democracy. This means that the government and its associations should be ran by the influence of the people, and for the people. We need to reshape the image the world has made of us one step at a time.

Students are already taking action through the use of social media and have organized many protest dates that call those to action to help assure our safety for the future of our world. Enough is enough!

Here are the dates and messages that are being protested:

March 14, 2018: National School Walkout

The Women’s March’s Youth EMPOWER group is planning a national school walkout on March 14, 2018, according to the group’s website. At 10 a.m. in every time zone, organizers are encouraging teachers, students, administrators, parents and allies to walk out for 17 minutes — one for every person killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

March 24, 2018: March For Our Lives:

On March 24, 2018, student organizers, including those from Parkland, are planning March For Our Lives, a march in Washington, D.C. to call for school safety and gun control.

“The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is to demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address these gun issues,” according to their website. “No special interest group, no political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country.”

More info can be found at the website and Facebook page.

April 20, 2018: National High School Walkout:

A growing movement titled #NationalSchoolWalkout is being called for by Connecticut student Lane Murdock and others. Murdock lives just 20 minutes away from Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to NBC News. In December 2012, 20 students and six staff members were gunned down at Sandy Hook.

The plan calls for high school students to walk out on April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting. No time has been specified yet. The plans are currently being housed on Twitter along with a Change.org petition page that has over 76,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning

Source for protest information: http://time.com/5165794/student-protests-walkouts-florida-school-shooting/