Something needs to be done about gun control

I believe the matter of gun violence, especially in schools, is extremely important. When one thinks about gun violence and school shootings, what comes to mind? Horror? Grief? Pain? Chaos?

As a senior at Kent-Meridian High School, I have seen this topic become somewhat of a casual conversation, a joke, even. This scares me enough in itself, and maybe a little more than the acts of violence that occur.

Last year, as you may have heard, there was a very serious rumor of a shooting that was supposedly to occur on Oct. 30, 2014 at Kent-Meridian, just after the tragedy of the shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School. This rumor caused half or more students to not attend school and raise security on campus. There was not an incident, and the source of these threats were caused by jokes made by students.

A similar incident happened again, just recently, but was not made public. Wondering why everyone was on edge, and why parents were keeping their students home, I asked a fellow peer what was going on, and he responded, “It’s nothing, just another school shooting rumor.” I felt my blood run cold.

Another school shooting rumor? Was this not a big deal? Why is this violence becoming a part of our everyday lives?

This year, a shooting occurred at an Oregon community college. Last year, there was one in our own back yard in Marysville, and then gunfire on elementary school students at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

These occurrences are only the most recent ones. After all of this catastrophe, why hasn’t anything been done? There is still not gun control, and anyone can get a permit. Eighteen percent of youth deaths in the past two years have been firearm related. It’s time for something to be done, and Kent can be the start of making a difference.

– Emily A. Safford