Imagine walking down a the hallways of a typical school.  You see kids playing and talking happily, the wonder the school day brings, the happiness emanating from the classrooms. But suddenly gunshots are ring out and chaos ensues. Screams fill the school, kids run away petrified fleeing for their survival. The place where students would experience their youth and have the power to dream, be forced to mature and survive, has become a place of horror and death. By the time law enforcement arrives it would be too late. This is what a student would have experienced in a school shooting, the impact it creates on the moment and afterwards.  This is the nightmare scenario for many Americans.  

Now imagine you are asleep in your house when you hear a crash downstairs. You instinctively reach for your first line of defense against any danger, a fire arm. You go for this defense because you have a family, you cannot afford anything to destroy it and you must defend them. You go downstairs and you see a burglar, armed and dangerous. Unfortunately if he proves a threat or if he is taking any belongings then you might just have to fire your gun in self defense. This is what brings the opposing conflict and the arguments everyone has today, people believe that guns also give a sense of safety in people from danger.

Gun Laws have been a major issue within the United States for centuries, so the debate of around the appropriate use of these firearms has been a divisive one. The 2nd Amendment grants American Citizens the right to bear firearms for the use to defend themselves, but these rights can be interpreted in different ways.  And while some people advocate that guns are part of our national culture, others cite the data describing the impacts of guns.  According to the Pew research center, “What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S.” by John Gramlich, shows data regarding death by firearm. In 2021 43% of gun-related death were due to Murder, 54% to suicide, 3% to other factors. Gun-related violence can emerge for many different reasons such as school shootings, gang violence, or mental health issues. 

Throughout the years, firearms have been heavily regulated and restricted for the protection of our nation, many have tried to obtain one through illegal actions and many paid the price for it. Many laws have been implemented by congress to decrease and filter out the amount of firearms in the streets. Some states have different regulations regarding accessibility to firearms to the public.  For instance Republican States would be less restrictive regarding gun laws, very much in agreement with the 2nd Amendment right. Whereas Democratic States are heavily more restricted on the possession of firearms, heavily against the use of the 2nd Amendment right in citizens personal lives. It is because of these factors that make Gun laws overall for the nation difficult, with tons of different opinions, the Government will need to pass a bill that will satisfy the whole country or one that will regard the rights of the people for security. 

What Trump says on this issue:

As president Trump changed who can buy guns and the definition of if you are eligible to purchase guns.  Here’s what article Democracy Forward has to say, “But less than one month into his Presidency, Trump’s DOJ directed the FBI’s background check operators to narrow the definition. It now only bars an individual with an arrest warrant from buying a gun if they: (1) fled a state; and (2) did so with the purpose of avoiding prosecution; and (3) were subject to imminent criminal prosecution. The result? More individuals with outstanding arrest warrants, including for dangerous offenses, can now purchase guns.” The fact that more dangerous people can purchase guns, may increase and change gun safety in America. Another article to corroborate these facts, is article Fact Sheet by the white house where it states this showing how trump made it easier to buy guns, “under Trump, the Department of Justice narrowed the definition of “fugitive from justice” when determining who is prohibited from buying a gun. It issued a memo that said, “The current process of denying a NICS transaction based on the existence of an active warrant alone is no longer valid.” The Justice Department policy now applies the “fugitive from justice” prohibitor only to individuals who fled their state to “avoid prosecution for a crime or to avoid giving testimony in a criminal proceeding,” and who are “subject to a current or imminent criminal prosecution or testimonial obligation.””

What Harris says on this issue:

Kamala Harris believes in gun laws.  She values the second amendment even to go as far as “joking” about if someone were to break into her house, “They’re getting shot.”  But primarily Kamala believes in keeping guns and here’s the article by times.com “What We Know About Kamala Harris’ Gun Ownership“ Gun ownership came up at the presidential debate earlier this month. “Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away. So stop with the continuous lying about this stuff,” Harris said in response to Donald Trump’s claim that she would take away people’s guns.”  But, Kamala Harris believes in ridding gun violence from the streets, and she had done so, “On her campaign website, as part of her goal to “ensure safety and justice for all,” Harris wrote that she would fight to combat gun violence. Harris has levied her role as a prosecutor and district attorney in California—during which she says she removed more than 12,000 illegal guns from the streets—as evidence of her hard stance on gun violence. “

How this issue impacts us locally:

 “Gun violence is an issue here at Washington Heights, guns that have been imported illegally, [we have] guns being used without identification/permits and it is a cultural thing too.” Allen Merced English teacher at The College Academy

 “The 2nd Amendment fundamentally, and its intent was to prevent tyrannical government.  This was an idea they got from enlightenment philosophers, to prevent the abuse of government.  However, as we see in modern society, we do not worry about the government taking away our rights, so we have to question what guns are being used for… So we have to look at this like the everyday person has the right to use guns for fear of the Government or transform that into a right into a privilege.” Victor Martinez, Global history/Government teacher at The College Academy,

 “Well thankfully we never experience gun [violence] here at The College Academy. We do hear that violence on the streets has increased, and I do hope our leadership, starting with the Mayor, will reform the police department, so that it can be managed better.”  Timothy Sigerson, Principal of The College Academy

“I fear the people who have the guns, not the guns itself. If I can manage all the guns in the world, well first of all I put all their serial numbers in a database, and put the names of the owners right next to it. With the advent of new technology, it is easy to know when a gun is used. So if there was some type of criminal case, we will go back to the database and look at the person owning their gun and detect why that person had the gun and further concern.”  Elvin Batista, U.S. History/Government Teacher for The College Academy