We have so many issues in America right now, but a huge one is school shootings. CNN states that in the U.S.in the past 10 years, 180 school shootings have happened, and we can add one more to that list. The most recent school shooting happened at Saugus Highschool in Santa Clarita, California, on Nov. 14 when 16-year-old Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow opened fire in the school’s courtyard. It was his birthday. Investigators say they was no apparent motive and no one who was shot was a target. Berhow shot and wounded three students and killed 16-year-old Gracie Muehlberger and 14-year-old Dominic Blackwell. Students ask across the country whether gun control laws are stronger and enforced enough.

Senior Anna Olsen states, “Active Shooter drills will help the students become safe, but it will not prevent the shooting from happening. The school can only do so much, but it relies on the state and legislation. And on the student’s part, when we are in a lockdown drill, they should take it seriously. Students are loud and playing games trying to be funny but when a real one happens, you won’t be prepared for what is going to happen and you get the people around you harmed or you can harm yourself.” Other countries like Austria, Azerbaijan, Chad, Republic of Congo, Honduras, Micronesia, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Switzerland, Tanzania, Yemen, and Zambia have restricted public access to guns, leaving them only for military and government use. This has caused a lot less fatalities to happen and it keeps everyone safe.

Along with the shootings comes other factors such as mental health and background checks to receive guns. Many school shootings occur from guardians not keeping guns locked from their non-licensed children. Most shootings come with the intent to harm like the one in Santa Clarita, but police still do not know what the reason is for this.  The number of shootings that have happened in the United States is unacceptable. Students do not feel safe at school anymore due to the lack of restrictions of guns to citizens under the age of 21. Countries like Canada, France, UK, Italy, Germany, and Japan have had little to no shootings due to the ban of guns to the public. If the U.S. banned guns, it would result in less tragedy and less deaths.