There have been more than thirty-four school shootings in the United States in 2018. On February 14, parents in Parkland, Florida sent their kids to school and 14 never came home. When they sent them off to school, they had no idea that morning would be their last time seeing their child.

Imagine being side-by-side with one of your classmates who falls to his or her death due to an armed perpetrator in our school or knowing that the goodbye you said to your parents that morning could be your last.

The close-minded idea that the Second Amendment isn’t going anywhere needs to stop. We must rely on our hope and trust in the government to do what is right and what is needed to ensure students aren’t brutally attacked and killed during school anymore. People who don’t support the gun control movement might be emotionally uneducated on the topic.

Non-supporters might be those who have never experienced such an event or lost a loved one to a school shooter, so naturally their concern over the issue is lessened. However, we need everyone on board to make change. The protest against gun violence is not for a total ban on guns, it is for gun control. No one is trying to eliminate the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights, but protesters are trying to plug the holes in it. People do have the right to keep and bear arms but there need to be conditions, much stronger conditions. Black market and third-party gun vendors need to be stopped because these guns are getting into the wrong hands.

Seeing the emotional outcry of the nation reflecting on the Florida shooting, legislators across the states are beginning to take action with preventative efforts against mass school shootings. Alabama State Representative, Will Ainsworth proposed a bill that will allow public school teachers and administrators to carry assault weapons on school grounds during school hours. Even teachers are outraged and against this proposal. This is why students everywhere are protesting for stronger gun control to eliminate the possibility of a gun being legally brought onto school grounds.

A more sensible solution than arming teachers with guns could be to incorporate more trained professionals in the schools. Such as police officers, having officers in the school might intimidate shooters because they know the police are armed and will protect the students and faculty. Police officers might offer better protection than security guards because they will have the proper weapons to defend a school in an emergency. Schools might even consider metal detectors that anyone entering the building must walk through in an attempt to “catch” and eliminate the occurrence of dangerous weapons being brought into the school. These are solutions we, as a country, can consider before turning to chaos and endangering the lives of students and teachers everywhere.