It’s 6:30 am, Monday morning, a day before your high school graduation. This is the last day. Your last ever day of high school. You are out the door around 7:00 am,  and on your way to school. First period starts, you have a party for the last last day of school. Second period, math, same story. Third period rolls around and you all get to watch a movie. About 30 minutes into the movie, the announcements come on. They only say “ALICE”. Over and over again. “ALICE”. That word echoes in your mind, over and over again. “ALICE”. You know what that means. There's an active shooter. Your teacher gets messages informing her on what to do. Without another word, the room is dark, the classroom is quiet, and the door is locked. Your entire class is shoved into the back closet while your teacher tells you to grab anything sharp. You all know you have to protect yourself. You hear loud gunshots down the hall, you hear screaming, you hear the loud crack getting louder and louder, it hurts your ears, yet you can't cover your ears. You need to be aware. 

Your teacher quickly barricades the door and tells you all to run. As you hear the shots getting louder and louder, she opens the window. You all run. Run for your lives, and don’t look back, this was what the last day was for you.You keep running and hear gun shots behind you, but you don’t look back. 

Later that day, you heard 20 kids died. 20 kids from your class. 20 kids who didn’t get to graduate. You think to yourself, what if they hadn't had school today, what if

I didn’t go to school today, what is going to happen to me? All of these questions race through your mind. The next day there's still a graduation, but a section has empty seats. Those seats were supposed to be filled, but they weren't. Those seats symbolize the lives they lost, the people who didn’t get to graduate because their lives were taken from them. 

While this situation never really took place, it could. It's happened to other people. Other people have been killed by school shootings just days before they graduated. It is not fair to them. 

Gun violence is a major issue in our society. It affects so many communities and people. Taking countless lives each day. Guns cause nemorous issues in our world including increased suicide rates, more school shootings/public shootings. Just regulating them, having laws against guns, would help save so many lives, because not just 10 people are killed from guns, statstics from Giffards Law center states “116 Americans are killed with guns each day, 58% with gun suicides, 39% gun homicides, 1.3% police shootings, 1.2% unintentional, 0.9 undetermined.”(giffards home web 1). This happens every single day. I could be killed in a shooting, there are very high chances, I’m in a school downtown, and have had lots of shootings around me, giffards Law center also states that “Three million American children are directly exposed to gun violence each year.” (giffards home web 1). Regulation of guns should be one of our top priorities because of the countless lives that are taken, traumatized, injured each day. There are so many shootings so far, more shootings than days this year, NPR states that ''There have been more than 130 mass shootings in the U.S. thus far in 2023 with four victims or more, according to the Gun Violence Archive. In other words, there has been more than one per day on average "(Elving 1) Congress should increase the regulation of guns because of the many lives being lost due to guns each day.

Gun regulation would solve a lot of America's gun problems, so it’s important we see what it affects, and what we can do to fix it. Guns have been around for hundreds of years, and have caused some good, some bad, but at the end of the day, the guns were and are being used as a way to display power over someone, and they also serve as self defense. Even though they do, there are other forms of protection such as a taser, that can stop someone coming towards you, and not kill them, because nobody, no matter what, should take a life away if they have a choice. Guns don't just hurt others like in mass shootings, they can cause people, mainly young people, to hurt or even kill themselves, the Rand corporation states that, “Available evidence supports the conclusion that child-access prevention laws, or safe storage laws, reduce self-inflicted fatal or nonfatal firearm injuries, including unintentional and intentional self-injuries, among youth.”( Smart, Morral, et al 1). Guns are designed to kill, no matter what they are used for, their purpose is to harm. Young people shouldn’t be able to get their hands on guns, because one, their brain isn't fully developed until age 25, and 2 shooters typically range from 18-20. If someone isn’t able to rent a car until 25 because of brain development, then why should they be able to buy a gun? A weapon designed to kill. Gun violence is a big problem in kentucky as well, but one of the reasons its so bad is because of the gun laws, CNN states that “Gun deaths across Kentucky in 2021 were 25% greater than in 2018, the year before permitless carry was allowed in the state, Mascia, said, adding gun homicides during the same time period were up 75%,”(Campbell 1). This isn’t just from gun violence it's from guns in general, guns pose a horrible danger to people everywhere, and people have shot others, shot themselfs and even accidentally shot themselfs, usually done by young adolescents. Guns were originally created to be used in the war, and for military purposes and self protection, but now they are normalized in American society. Civilians are allowed to purchase military grade weapons which is one of the many reasons so many people are killed. They buy those weapons to kill, to defend, to hunt even. Most homicides are used with guns, from gun violence in the United States, they state that “Among the nearly 95,000 homicides between 2015 and 2019, about 74 percent were committed with firearms.”(Ramchand 1).

Gun violence also causes a great danger to certain communities. Low income areas, and people who live in the city, are faced with this type of danger. Gun violence also causes a threat to people of color, from giffards.org,“Nearly 1,000 civilians are fatally shot by law enforcement each year. Unarmed Black civilians are five times more likely to be shot.”(giffards home web 1). Gun violence has a deeper threat to many, including communities of people, people of certain races, religions, genders, age groups, people in the workforce and schools. Gun violence is everywhere and happens each day, and it even affects some families, said by everytown, “In at least 46 percent of mass shootings with four or more people killed, the perpetrator shot a current or former intimate partner or family member.”(everytown home web 1). Gun violence is a way people ‘let off steam’ or get revenge and this typically leads to innocent people dying over something they aren’t even involved with, or someone dying over a disagreement. Guns give people way too much power over another person and make them able to easily take their life. Children are even affected by this, in schools, in neighborhoods. Everytown claims that “Nearly two-thirds of the domestic violence–related mass shootings with four or more people killed (since 2015) included at least one child or teen killed.”(giffards home web 1). Numerous children and teens are endangered by just going to school. People receiving an education and earning money face the potential of being shot. There's even a future danger for your children, neighborhoods will get more and more dangerous in low income areas, and even high income areas, more and more shootings will occur and more and more people will be shot. People face the risk of having more and more lives taken each day if we don’t regulate guns. The numbers will only rise if we don’t do anything. More and more people will have their lives taken from them.

Regulating gun laws would help make America a much safer place. America has been made a worse place because of guns, and because they haven’t yet been regulated so anyone above or the age of 18 can buy a gun, an 18 year old can buy an AK-47. People who are against regulation of guns and stand by the “stand your ground law” and “having guns is a right”, probably don't know that, from the science of gun policy, “There is supportive evidence that stand-your-ground laws are associated with increases in firearm homicides and moderate evidence that they increase the total number of homicides.”(Smart, Morral, et al 1). People shouldn’t just be allowed to shoot whoever they want, that person could live a life, change, they could go to prison and get what they deserve, but killing someone with a gun is something that should never be justified, and it makes for more murder, when people can easily defend themselves with things like tasers, and pepper spray, resulting in the person going away or slowing down, but not taking their life. People in America should know that they can use other things to defend themselves and that 18-25 year olds, whose brains are still developing, shouldn’t have access to buy and own a military grade gun, ABC news claims,“Under the law, most adults over 21 can purchase and carry a firearm and take them to most places in the state without any license.”(Pereira 1). 18 year olds can’t even drink, or rent a car due to their brain not being fully developed, but if they can’t do those things, why do we ignore that rule when it comes to guns? Guns are literally designed to protect, kill, or harm people. Guns in Kentucky are even allowed in a place of work, also from ABC news, “The law does not have any provisions preventing firearms in several locations such as hospitals, houses of worship, sports arenas, casinos, polling places and banks, according to state law.”(Pereira 1). People are allowed to bring guns into banks and hospitals? Just regulating guns from being bought from young people, and being brought to certain places, would help prevent a lot of the shootings in america. Guns are not a right.

Gun laws are out of control and take countless lives every year, they need to be regulated. Gun violence, and guns in general have been taking so many lives. Such as in kentucky, the numbers have only been going up, CNN states, “Gun deaths across Kentucky in 2021 were 25% greater than in 2018, the year before permitless carry was allowed in the state, Mascia, said, adding gun homicides during the same time period were up 75%” (Campbell,Hannah,Joseph 1) . Guns are causing a spike in murder and the non existent gun laws are causing the shootings and deaths because of guns to only rise, people who shouldn’t have their hands on guns are going to start getting their hands on them, and causing harm if we don’t do something about it, if we don't regulate guns and don’t receive them just as a given, a right, because no, they aren’t a right, sure they are a form of self protection, but it kills the person when they could have used a taser, pepper spray, ect, not killing the person. Nobody deserves to have their life taken no matter what they have done, they may deserve bad things coming their way, but nobody deserves to have their life taken from them. Because of unjust gun regulation and people thinking that they are a right, this is taking the lives of children and adults. Less than a year ago in Texas, from NPR, “child victims at Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed less than a year ago.”(Elving 1 ). Those 19 children won't be able to graduate, go to college, have a life, just because of no gun laws/regulation, we need to start regulating guns or else more and more lives are going to be taken, people won’t be able to live their lives and people are going to start abusing the power of easily being able to own and use a gun and bring it as they please. Their deaths, and the deaths of many others could have been easily avoidable, just if there were stricter gun laws.

States should face more attention to regulating gun laws, and background checks because of the countless shootings occurring and some states having easy going gun laws. People can buy a gun legally with no background check or anything, and it cannot be traced, evidence from CNN states “Universal background checks are nonexistent, so you can buy a gun from a stranger and there’s no record of the sale, making it almost impossible for law enforcement to trace these weapons if they’re ever used in a crime,”(Campbell,Hannah,Joseph 1). Anyone can buy a gun even a minor who is prone to risk taking due to their brain not being fully developed, our brains aren’t fully developed until age 25, we should raise the age to buy a gun because of brain development, because car companies and alcohol companies do this as well, you can’t rent a car until age 25 because of brain development, why should you be able to buy a gun? The majority of adults 18-24 have guns, and bring them with them everywhere endangering the lives of many, due to them taking a lot of risks, and letting their anger control them and their decisions that they could regret in the future. Evidence from ABC news supports this, “Under the law, most adults over 21 can purchase and carry a firearm and take them to most places in the state without any license.”(Pereira 1).Many people don't have to have a background check and can just buy a gun and do as they please with it. This endangers many people, and makes shootings more common, since the majority of shootings are 18-24 year olds. We should be harder and stricter about gun laws and gun safety because it would help make America and many states a much better place.

Gun violence is a massive issue in our world, it takes countless lives each day, whether it is from underaged people owning guns, no background checks done on people who own or want to buy a gun, no gun laws, guns are designed to kill, and having gun laws would help with all of these issues. If fewer people have their hands on guns, and people do background checks as well, more and more people's lives would be saved, and less and less shootings would occur. Shootings typically happen from 18-25 year olds, whose brains aren’t fully developed and they are prone to risk taking, so regulation of guns and gun laws would help with the shootings, and the amount of accidents that happen with guns, and suicides. Guns are a big problem in America and it would help make it a better place if we regulated them, it would make it much safer for everyone. In conclusion, congress should take gun regulation to a more serious level, and invest themselves in the regulation of guns and the good things that would come with gun regulation. 

                                      Works cited:

Campbell, Josh, and Jack Hannah & Elizabeth Joseph. “Kentucky Has Some of the Least Restrictive Gun Laws in the US.” CNN, 12 Apr. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/us/kentucky-gun-laws.

Elving, Ron. “The Nashville School Shooting Highlights the Partisan Divide Over Gun Legislation.” NPR, 1 Apr. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1167467835/school-shooting-assault-weapons-ban-history.

Pereira, Ivan. ABC News, 10 Apr. 2023, abcnews.go.com/US/kentuckys-gun-laws-after-louisville-shooting/story?id=98475213.

“RAND Corporation Provides Objective Research Services and Public Policy Analysis.” RAND Corporation, www.rand.org/. Accessed 19 May 2023.

Smart, Rosanna, et al. “The Science of Gun Policy: Second Edition.” RAND Corporation, 22 Apr. 2020, www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2088-1.html.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text. “Topic: Gun Violence in the United States.” Statista,www.statista.com/topics/10904/gun-violence-in-the-united-states/. Accessed 19 May 2023.“Web.” Everytown, 18 May 2023, www.everytown.org/.

“Web.” Giffords, 12 May 2023, giffords.org/.