After Parkland shooting, opinions on gun control more divided than ever
By Sondra Eilen and Kimberly Swan
February 14 is the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed and 17 more were injured. This shooting is among many that happened over the years in America and gun control is still a topic of debate to this day.
Students at Florida Atlantic University have varying views on the gun control issues still at hand. For example, there is a law that may be expanded to allow teachers to carry arms. To many this is not the solution to the problem. According a FAU poll, 65 percent of Florida voters do believe there should more gun regulations and 51 percent do not want teachers to be armed.
Caleb Stitt, a freshman at FAU, says that it’s not a good idea to have teachers carry guns at school. He says his mom is a teacher and it’s not a solution to arm the teachers themselves.
“The best way to prevent more school shootings is to have more on campus security and thorough escape plans for the students and teachers to safely evacuate,” Stitt says.
Cesia Vanella, a senior at FAU, thinks gun control could be the best way to prevent more shootings. She says it could definitely be stricter, thinking about her safety in public settings now more than ever. Particularly when recalling the 2012 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado where 12 people were killed and 70 were injured.
“Gun control is definitely the best way to prevent the issue,” says Vanella. “You can’t expect to control every single person.”
On the other hand, Diamond Hosch, another senior at FAU, thinks revising the gun control policy is important. She also thinks people who abuse the use of guns are the root of the issue.
“There is a need for people to have their own protection,” Hosch says.
She says the problems manifest at an early age, and teaching better values builds character since children will grow into adults someday. She recalls a friend who didn’t even have a driver’s license and was able to buy a gun easily. That’s why she thinks since people can find ways to buy guns off the street or at stores, changing the policy won’t fix anything.
Even though students at FAU have varying views of gun control, an NPR poll shows that the sense of urgency for gun control has gone down. When the Stoneman Douglas School shooting first occurred, 71 percent of Americans wanted stricter gun laws. Now a year later, it has gone down to 51 percent.
One year since the shooting, there are still no laws for background checks on private sales, and no laws on assault weapons and magazine capacity for guns. That means citizens can carry any amount of ammunition they want while owning any amount of guns as well. However, Florida lawmakers have pushed to arm teachers, another gun control law of topic up for debate.
