A recent controversy has become common in the media and has made headlines across America as gun violence has become a more common issue. The voices of many high school students are beginning to be heard amongst adults. This shows that everyone is capable of taking a stand against ideas that they don’t believe in and letting their voices be heard, no matter what people are. This rush of action has allowed members of a nation to stop and think how gun violence has become a huge problem in society.

School is supposed to be one of the safest places for a child to be; however, schools such as Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida have experienced a school shooting that left 17 students and teachers dead. This caused students from the school to speak out about gun violence. Their goal towards change has influenced the nation to get involved. For example, many have come together to create events such as marches. Also, people have been posting their personal opinions online creating a nation wide discussion regarding the issue.

After the students of Stoneman Douglas spoke out about wanting stricter gun laws, many gun owners have associated stricter gun laws with the banning of guns completely. It must be taken into consideration that the second amendment was written in the 1700s, where muskets were the most common guns rather than semi-automatic guns. These students aren’t advocating for guns to be banned. Those involved in the tragedy are speaking for awareness in hope for a positive change. By providing mental health checks and other precautions before selling guns, shootings may be reduced.

One thought that comes to the minds of the youth is that the media is encouraging others to commit to an act of violence in their own district. Those that are guilty of gun violence in schools are usually quick to make the news. Younger children may see this and feel that they too can become “famous,” due to the media, and plan their own attack.

Schools need to try to prevent this from happening by enhancing their safety procedures and becoming more informed on situations that involve gun violence. As of now, Freedom Area High School does not have metal detectors which are a common way to make sure that all students and adults are unarmed. However, teachers have participated in an active shooter drill to be more prepared if an event like this were to ever occur.

Due to the fact that Freedom is a small district, students know almost everyone in their building. Students that attend smaller schools are less likely to be nervous about gun violence because they know almost everyone in their school. However, in a larger school, students may only know half of their grade. This means that there are so many possibilities that a student in the school has poor intentions.

President Trump has suggested arming the teachers as a solution to the gun violence. However, putting guns into the school on purpose is not truly going to help eliminate gun violence. This may only combat the issue if there is an active shooter in the school. Adding guns to a school also will make students more nervous about violence because they would know that there are guns in the school that could be dangerous.

Now that many people are agreeing that gun control needs to be taken more seriously, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been hit hard because not as many people are supporting them. Also Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart have raised the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21.

The main takeaway that should stay with students throughout this controversy is that if they hear or know something, speaking up could prevent a mass shooting at their school. All students have a voice to make a change to society. Adults don’t always take teens or children seriously due to age, however, the students of Stoneman Douglas and from high schools across the nation are coming together to take a step in the right direction.