Within recent history, there have been an astounding number of incidents in which the safety of public and private school students has been jeopardized. Most of these incidents involve mass shootings, where many innocent lives of both students and teachers have been lost. On February 14th, 2018, the United States witnessed yet another one of these tragedies when a high school in Florida suffered the loss of 17 students and staff. As a student attending a high school with a population of over 1400 students and staff, my safety feels threatened more and more each time I hear of a school shooting on the news. At this point the government—and especially the schools—are well aware of the potential danger that students face every day, so why is
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The FBI conducts background checks when an individual wishes to purchase a firearm, but they are not nearly effective enough. Nikolas Cruz, the student who opened fire in a southern Florida high school on Valentine’s day, “brandished guns and knives while making racist remarks against Muslims” (Pagliery 2). He even explicitly made threats that foreshadowed his actions, including a comment he left on a YouTube video last fall in which he stated “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” (Pagliery 2). Despite such obvious signs, he still passed his background check. Why? Because the background check process “can take as little as a few minutes” (Pagliery 3). All it requires of the customer is a photo ID and a fillable form composed of questions concerning age, address, race, and criminal history. Little to no attention is paid to the customer’s social media accounts, where the most crucial signs of a potential threat are located. The FBI needs to start paying closer attention to the actions of gun purchasers outside of their criminal history, because there is always the potential that a seemingly innocent person can become a criminal in the …show more content…
Those who have witnessed a shooting or have been a victim of one often argue that the guns are to blame and that they should be banned entirely, but this is not the case. Guns are used for far more than just killing. They are used in various sports, as a way of hunting animals for food, and as a way of protecting one’s self from an intruder. The real issue is deciding on new ways of keeping students safe in the event of a massacre, as well as developing a more effective method of preventing potential threats from obtaining a weapon in the first place. Both can be easily done by improving school security through methods such as installing security cameras, and by deepening the FBI’s background check system. By doing so, both students and their parents can be sure that their safety is guaranteed and their futures are
The FBI conducts background checks when an individual wishes to purchase a firearm, but they are not nearly effective enough. Nikolas Cruz, the student who opened fire in a southern Florida high school on Valentine’s day, “brandished guns and knives while making racist remarks against Muslims” (Pagliery 2). He even explicitly made threats that foreshadowed his actions, including a comment he left on a YouTube video last fall in which he stated “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” (Pagliery 2). Despite such obvious signs, he still passed his background check. Why? Because the background check process “can take as little as a few minutes” (Pagliery 3). All it requires of the customer is a photo ID and a fillable form composed of questions concerning age, address, race, and criminal history. Little to no attention is paid to the customer’s social media accounts, where the most crucial signs of a potential threat are located. The FBI needs to start paying closer attention to the actions of gun purchasers outside of their criminal history, because there is always the potential that a seemingly innocent person can become a criminal in the …show more content…
Those who have witnessed a shooting or have been a victim of one often argue that the guns are to blame and that they should be banned entirely, but this is not the case. Guns are used for far more than just killing. They are used in various sports, as a way of hunting animals for food, and as a way of protecting one’s self from an intruder. The real issue is deciding on new ways of keeping students safe in the event of a massacre, as well as developing a more effective method of preventing potential threats from obtaining a weapon in the first place. Both can be easily done by improving school security through methods such as installing security cameras, and by deepening the FBI’s background check system. By doing so, both students and their parents can be sure that their safety is guaranteed and their futures are