Guns should be banned unless you have job that requires it

By Maleah H. & Jailyn R.

Students at AHS are always talking or worrying about school shootings, especially on the days when we have the active shooter drills. However, students should never worry about what could happen while they're in a place where they're supposed to feel safe. Even people across the country shouldn’t have to  worry about guns in their everyday lives. Things we worried about wouldn't happen if guns were banned. Some people say guns are good for protection,others say guns are harmful and too many innocent people get killed. In our opinion, guns should be banned unless you have a job that requires it.

The first reason why guns should be banned is because guns are dangerous for society and public places, especially since practically anyone can own one--that is, they are too easy to get. According to Dr Mark Rosenberg, former director of firearm injury prevention, quoted in a CDC article,”When guns are easily accessible, violent situations become more dangerous and this causes more risk to innocent bystanders.’’  The article also alleges that people are able to transfer a firearm to another party without conducting a background check. In other words, even if you have had a bad past experience with guns or if you have a mental health problem, you can still get a gun. The ease with which one can acquire a gun can cause serious problems and lead to an unexpected shooting or even killing themselves. To summarize, because guns are legal, they are easy to get despite some restrictions on acquiring them being in place.  However, if guns were banned altogether, loopholes would be less likely to exist.

Banning guns can also prevent mass shootings in public and in school buildings. According to Rockefeller Institute Of Government, “Since 1966, 1726 people have been killed and 2,688 injured in mass public shootings. These statistics translate to an average of 3.4 people killed and 5.3 people injured in each mass public shooting event.”  These shootings would never happen if there had been a law that banned guns or if they made restrictions on who would carry them. According to PubMed, a counterfactual study looked at public mass shootings from 1966 to 2022 and found that during the period of the 1994 to 2004 Federal Assaults Weapons Ban, the upward trend is such that shootings “substantially fell.” To summarize, no guns equals no gun crimes. 

A third reason why guns should be banned is because it can reduce other violent crimes and suicides. Researchers at Rutgers found that states with more firearm laws had fewer suicide and homicide rates. They wrote, ‘’As states strictness increased their suicide and homicide rates deacresed.” Fewer guns or stricter laws can lead to less access to lethal weapons wich means fewer impulsive acts of violence and less gun suicides. 

Despite having all these reasons why guns should be banned, others might argue that guns are good for protection and safety, like how they will be able to protect their loved ones, or they might say it is their right because the second amendment refers to “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” However, our opinion is superior because most people don't even use guns for protection anyways, it’s just something made up to say to defend gun ownership, or an excuse to be harming people with guns. Furthermore, the 2nd amendment was written during a time when there were actual militias, and the Founding Fathers wanted citizens to be able to defend themselves in the event of external threats or internal instability that the military or police could not handle. The context of the era shaped their belief that an armed populace was essential not only for personal protection but also for maintaining a balance of power between the government and the governed. As society has changed, however, debates continue over how those original intentions should be understood and applied in the modern world.

We wanted to know what other students and staff at AHS had to say on this issue. We therefore interviewed Carlos D., one of the band students at AHS, on what his opinion was on this subject. He explained, “I believe that in certain jobs that have firearms banned shouldn't have it banned because of the obligation of having other people to potentially protect.” His perspective on the situation shows how even if guns can be used for bad, it can also protect the ones you love if you use it for that reason.

We had also asked Mrs. Currin, an AHS Art teacher, to explain what her opinion was on this subject, she explained, “Gun violence in the US seems to be getting worse and worse. Mass shootings are no longer rare or surprising. It seems like there is a school shooting every month at least! Because of our traditions and culture, I don’t think a complete gun ban will ever happen. Americans love their guns! However, we need much stricter gun control laws, including banning assault style or automatic weapons, stronger background check regulations, and training requirements. We need to do something - I think looking to what works in other countries would be a step in the right direction.” Mrs. Currin's perspective shows us other alternatives ways instead of banning guns--that stricter laws can be made to protect people while still protecting their 2nd amendment rights as well.

In conclusion, guns should be banned because they put everyone in danger and make situations much more dangerous than they should be. Students, families and just random people in public places shouldn't have to worry about a gun getting pulled out just because of some little argument. People with mental health problems shouldn’t worry about putting themselves and the people around them in danger if they own a gun. Protesting won't change the laws but you should never use guns for the intention of killing a person no matter what happened. Remember to be safe and keep the people around you safe.