The time to act is now, with no excuses
OPINION
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The nation is still reeling from the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17.
The school shooting last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., must be the end.
We’re only two months into 2018 and there have been eight school shootings resulting in deaths across America. Eight. It’s an alarming number and there seems to be no discernible movement to prevent further incidents.
But it’s not just the staggering number of school shootings over the past decade (from Sandy Hook Elementary to Marysville Pilchuck High School to the 17 killed Wednesday in Parkland) but the other horrifying shootings resulting in lost life that have swept the nation.
From the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Florida that rocked the nation to the screams that were heard from coast to coast at the Las Vegas concert shooting last year — so many people have been affected by lax gun laws that are allowing dangerous weapons into the wrong hands.
There’s this absurd idea or feeling that we are immune from school shootings and mass shootings because we live in this little pocket of Massachusetts where guns are well regulated, but that’s not the case.
There have been renewed calls to reinstate the assault weapons ban that lasted from 1994-2004.
On Dec. 26, 2000, Michael McDermott strolled through the lobby of Edgewater Technology in Wakefield with an AK-47, 12-gauge shotgun, and a .32-caliber pistol. He proceeded to shoot seven co-workers. Paul Marceau, a 36-year-old development technician and my cousin, was among the victims.
Our family still feels the loss 18 years later, as I’m sure all families of the victims of the Wakefield Massacre do.
Military-grade weapons such as the AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles should not be in public hands, especially not in the hands of children.
The time for new gun regulations is now. There cannot be another 20 years of devastating school shootings and terrifying mass shootings.
The U.S. government needs to worry about gun control laws, not about passing the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 (H.R. 38) that would allow people with conceal carry permits from their state to have the same privilege in other states.
Creating a gun registry has been much opposed by the National Rifle Association, but in today’s climate, there must be one. Knowing who owns guns could be a matter of life or death. It would help to track down a perpetrator in the case of a shooting or even follow up on warnings from other people.
It could have helped the FBI in investigating the Parkland shooter after his comment on a YouTube video claiming he wanted to be a school shooter. The more information the government has on people’s guns, the safer the rest of us will be.
My heart goes out to the families of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School victims. But mourning resulting from such violence must end — now.
Amelia is a senior. She has a great interest in writing and is excited to be a journalist and co-editor for the The AMSA Voice. Amelia has attended AMSA...
Pomodamore • Mar 6, 2018 at 4:34 pm
I am a gun owner in NJ and I used to think that there was one requirement to get a gun that we have here, that if every state adopted it, the number of “lone wolf shootings would drop dramatically. That requirement is 2 personal references, not relatives, who have known the person at least 2 years. I no longer think that this requirement is going to be as useful as I originally thought. No system is stronger than its weakest link. Having to provide personal references will work only if the authorities (local police or sheriff) follow through by contacting those references, not only to make sure they are favorable, but that they actually exist. As long as our safety has to rely on government workers doing their jobs, we are going to continue to see more Parkland type shootings.
M Manning • Mar 1, 2018 at 6:13 pm
Your absolutely right that gun violence needs to end. We all agree on that. I would love for the younger generations help find a solution to the problem. As with every generation before them they are the future. I cant help but wonder if while preparing for this article you spent any time with people that are on the other side of your argument. If not I would strongly encourage you to do so. You might hear arguments about how bans have not worked in other countries, how gun crimes are not prosecuted as the law states and we have repeat offenders, how criminals find a way to commit these crimes despite existing gun laws and many other facts that contribute to the challenges we face as a nation. If you are serious about this topic I would encourage you to visit GOAL in Northboro. They are what you might call the NRA for Massachusetts. We are lucky enough to have them one town over from AMSA and they are a wealth of information. I would be interested to see you follow up article after hearing both sides. Thanks for opening the floor on this challenging topic.