Why Can’t We Be More Like Canada? :: Essays Papers

Why Can’t We Be More Like Canada? The National Rifle Association has gone too far in defending the right to bear arms because the safety of schools is in jeopardy. The tragic events that occurred at Columbine High School in early 1999 with the killing of 13, including 12 students and one teacher while wounding many more, put much greater focus and awareness on violence in schools. The upward trend of violence in schools beginning in the early 1990’s got national attention because of the shootings that took place just outside of Denver. The tragedy at Columbine seemed to be the last straw for anti-gun activists, politicians, the media, and parents of children in schools to take action to protect America’s young from death in a place where kids are supposed to be safe. The NRA is not stepping back from their fight to protect the second amendment, but changes need to be made to protect kids growing up in society today. School violence, especially school shootings, has kept pace in recent years since the Columbine shootings. According to the National School Safety and Security Services there have been 116 total deaths in the past 5 years that occurred in schools. Of the 116, 45 have been caused by shootings. Just within the past three months of this new school year, there have been 13 school shooting deaths (fig. 1 and 2). That is an average of nine deaths caused by guns per year for the last five years since Columbine startled society to this devastating problem. The obstacle is in front of all of American to have the incidents of shooting deaths in schools decrease to where they are non-existent. In the state of Colorado, where the world’s media attention was drawn due to Columbine and still is, they have some of the loosest guns laws in the nation. A fact sheet was released by the Violence Policy Center on the same day as the shooting at Columbine High School for some related background information. The press release shows that citizens of Colorado do not have licensing or registration requirements with firearm purchase or possession. There is no waiting period for the purchase of handguns, shotguns, or rifles. There are no age restrictions with the possession of rifles or shotguns, but no person under the age of 18 can have a handgun.