On Wednesday, February 14, a shooting took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, marking it the 18th school shooting in 2018. The gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, opened fire on students and teachers, killing 17 people and wounding another 14, according to NBC News.

 Time Magazine reports that Cruz traveled to the high school by an Uber vehicle and upon arrival took an AR-15 assault rifle out of a case and started shooting inside of classrooms. Though it is unconfirmed, reports suggest that Cruz pulled the fire alarm as a means to group more students together for his attack.  After he finished shooting, Cruz dropped his gun (and a protective vest he was wearing) as a means to camouflage in with the students. He then left the school and a timeline that the Broward County Sheriff’s Office put out states that he went into a Walmart and purchased a drink at Subway before being detained in Coral Springs.

  This shooting has added to the anxiety and fear that many students have regarding school shootings. Junior Abby Jones talks about her thoughts on the horrific event.

   “The shooting is scary and there have been so many . . . I think it’s insane, but I also think that it’s overlooked and people see it more as a number [rather] than as an issue. It’s obvious that things need to be done to prevent future [shootings]. As far as our school, it’s scary to know that the target was another public school,” said Jones.

  Mixed with this fear is anger over the current gun control laws at both the federal and state levels and how the NRA has a stronghold on both our government and our lives.

   “Stricter gun laws should be placed. It’s insane that an eighteen-year-old was able to legally purchase an AR-15 and it should be illegal. My mom and I were talking about a website she signed up for called everytown.org, which notifies you about what politicians in your area are sponsored by the NRA, which is good to know [who] the people in power [are] that the [NRA] sponsor[’s] and their true motives during elections . . . It’s important to know what’s going on, how to change it, and be informed on who they’re voting for and who is in charge of all of this,” said Jones.

   Spanish teacher Pamela McNees also points out the absurdity at the age a person is allowed to purchase a firearm.

   “Stricter gun laws should be enforced. Take it from the eighteen-year-old boy who got the gun from who knows where. His brain has not fully developed at such a young age and he doesn’t know much. So with a weapon in his hands, imagine the things that could happen,” said McNees.

   Many people believe this incident would have been prevented had legislation been in place that raised the gun buying age to 21 or required a stricter background check. McNees believes that our school should implement some resources so as to lower any chances of future shootings.

   “We should have a designated mental health clinic at school staffed with medical professionals—not just counselors and teachers—who are full time and are there to help kids emotionally and mentally unstable. And in doing this, it could potentially prevent instances such as the one in Florida,” said McNees.

   In response to the shooting, there are currently huge student movements across the country to make it clear to legislators that teen’s voices need to be heard about gun control as we are the next generation of voters and active citizens. Walkouts have already occurred in Florida, Colorado, Iowa, and more states over the past week, but national scale protest demonstrations are planned for the following months.

   On March 14, there is a national school walkout, that the Women’s March Youth EMPOWER group has planned, in which at 10 a.m. students, school faculty, parents, and allies are to walk out for seventeen minutes – one minute to honor each student who died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. On March 24, student organizers have planned a march on Washington D.C. to call for gun control and school safety legislation. On April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, there is another national school walkout in which the details are still being formed. Clubs on campus, such as MECHA, BSU, GSA, and Key Club are joining together to talk about our school’s involvement in the walkouts.

   The message is clear: though the Second Amendment may be a partisan issue, mass school shootings affect both Republicans and Democrats, and something needs to be done to prevent them.