On February 14, high school students in Parkland, Florida went to school and 14 never came back. The reason they did not return? A madman, using a tool meant for protection, abused his rights and chose to selfishly take 17 lives. His evil actions only fueled the cries for stricter gun control. As someone who has been affected by gun violence, is a member of a family that owns guns, and is someone who believes in guns and the Second Amendment, the actions of Nikolas Jacob Cruz shocked me and saddened me just as they did all Americans.

However, I am here to say that the Second Amendment is NOT going anywhere. At all.

From the deadly events at Columbine High School in 1999, to the most recent violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, students have been made to worry about school shootings as they increasingly hit closer to home. Many think that the peak event in this violence in schools was when Adam Lanza killed 27 people, including 20 elementary school children and his mother, all with guns he acquired at home.

However, he was well within his legal rights to have these guns; but, unfortunately, he was not responsible. He chose to kill people and himself. Since that day in 2012, a string of violent acts involving guns has drawn further attention to the issue.

There is a reason the right to keep and bear arms is the Second Amendment of this nation. Sure, the circumstances and times in which the Constitution was created have changed greatly; but the point remains the same: citizens of the United States should have the right to bear arms. Let me be clear. I am not saying citizens should be able to shoot up schools, and I am not defending the Second Amendment as if it is my first-born child. I am simply stating that I do not see a clear method of gun control that will absolve the sins of gun violence other than outright eliminating or stripping the Second Amendment to nearly nothing. This leads me back to my earlier point: the Second Amendment is NOT going anywhere. It is, in part, what separates us from other countries. It represents freedom. This includes the freedom to choose and commit heinous acts. However, if you choose to abuse this freedom, you must prepared for the consequences.

Inside of me there is a great battle : on one side is my gun owning family, on the other is the realization of a stark future if something is not done. I’m not in any way sure of what steps to take, nor am I suggesting that there is a total solution for gun violence in America. What I am saying is that I believe in the Second Amendment. I also believe that we can curb or even diminish gun violence through legislative actions and collaborative actions by the community on a national scale.