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The Political Aspect of School Shootings in the United States

Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s, the United States rarely experienced school

shootings; however, the occurrences increased after 1979 when an elementary school shooting

was carried out by a struggling 16-year-old female with poor mental health (Ennis et al. 2564).

Two people were killed while eight students and one adult were injured due to a firearm (Ennis

et al. 2564). The outbreak of school shootings in the U.S. has violated students’ safety and

disturbed the privileges of public education. Columbine High School became vastly known for

its mass shooting. John Woodrow Cox, an enterprise writer (“John Woodrow Cox”), and Steven

Rich, a database editor (“Steven Rich”), both work at The Washington Post. They claimed,

“More than 187,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school since Columbine...”

(Cox and Rich). Students are mainly the victims while the perpetrators tend to be troubled

individuals who seek out revenge or struggle with a mental illness. The perpetrators bring

firearms onto school campus, which then leads to them firing at large crowds of people. In the

political lens, the stakeholders are the school shooters, American students, and U.S. legislators.

Examining school shootings in the United States unveils how the misuse of guns causes death,

protests, and different policies being enacted by the U.S. government. Moreover, the political

lens demonstrates how school shootings influence the ongoing debate between gun rights and

gun control. The mass shootings committed by school shooters, student protests, and responses

from the U.S. government suggests a need to establish a more secure and positive learning

environment by implementing stricter gun control laws.

In the United States, school shooters committed violent acts through the availability of

guns. In Colorado, the infamous Columbine High School shooting was committed by two

teenage students named Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris in April of 1999; furthermore, fifteen
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people were killed, including Klebold and Harris (Birkland and Lawrence 1193). According to

Gary Kleck, the Professor of Criminology at Florida State University (“Professor Honored for

Dedication to Criminology Field, Research”), “The pistol was sold directly to Harris and Klebold

by a 22-year-old private owner...” (1452). Kleck addresses how Harris and Klebold were both

minors when they purchased firearms; additionally, he explains why it was against the law for

them to have any access to guns (1452). Kleck’s reasons are logical because Harris and Klebold

illegally obtained guns when they were underage; thus, they brought it onto the school campus to

attack classmates and teachers. Another example includes the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre.

Lisa Owings, a graduate from the University of Minnesota with an English and creative writing

degree (112), explains why Adam Lanza killed twenty students and six adults at Sandy Hook

Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut (15). Owings thoroughly explains the life of Lanza

by including his struggle with Asperger’s syndrome, which caused him to have difficulty with

social skills (18). Owings also includes how “…investigators found a large arsenal of firearms

and other weapons in his home” that were all purchased by his mother (64). Owings shares her

perspective by explaining how Lanza’s mental illness and the easy access to guns played a factor

in the shooting. She validates her reasoning through providing Lanza’s background and the

findings of the investigators. The availability of firearms allows individuals to commit crimes

and place others under harm; therefore, student protests and arguments between gun control and

gun rights occur.

The aftermath of school shootings negatively affects U.S. students; therefore, protests

provide them a voice to gain recognition from the government. According to Nancy Scheper-

Hughes, a Professor of Medical Anthropology at University of California, Berkeley (“Nancy

Scheper-Hughes”), “...students held a public rally. They yelled, they wept and they pledged to
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‘have a voice’ against gun violence. Among the speakers was a senior student, Sophie Colson,

who asked a question that captured the generational divide: ‘Are your guns more important than

our lives?’” (4). Scheper-Hughes uses Sophie Colson’s belief in gun control to justify the

importance of students fighting for their safety. She supports the effort of young students in

preventing gun violence; thus, her reasoning is logical because students are the main victims of

this issue, which allows them to speak out. However, U.S. citizens all have different views on

gun policies. People are split into “…two positions—gun rights and gun control, the opposing

views that dominate modern debate over gun policies…” (Cornell 868). Many citizens believe in

regulating gun laws in order to prevent future mass shootings, while others believe that gun

rights should not be taken away. Alan Blinder and Vivian Yee, writers for The New York Times,

interviewed Caleb Conrad, a sixteen-year-old junior in high school, and asked for his perspective

on school shootings. He said, “‘People say it’s all about gun control…But that’s not the real

issue here. The real issue is the people who are doing it’” (Blinder and Yee). The New York

Times, a liberal source (“Ideological Placement of Each Source’s Audience”), may show bias

through using Conrad’s perspective to demonstrate a counterargument against gun control. In

addition, they attempt to offer both sides a fair representation. The protests allow students to seek

help from the government.

As a response to school shootings, U.S. legislators imposed new policies. Nadia Nedzel, a

Professor of Law at Southern University Law Center (“Nadia E. Nedzel”), states, “...Congress

passed the GFSZA [Gun-Free School Zones Act], making it a federal crime to possess a firearm

when one knows or should know that one is in a school zone” (430). Nedzel explains that the

GFSZA was issued due to a male with schizophrenia killing two students and injuring eleven

people at an elementary school in North Carolina during 1988 (430). She supports the
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Congress’s actions by showing the dangers of carrying firearms onto school campus through

using the shooting in 1988 as an example. Furthermore, the U.S. government has also

temporarily banned assault weapons. Mark Gius, a Professor of Economics at Quinnipiac

University (“Mark Gius”), states, “When the assault weapons ban (state or Federal) was in effect,

the number of school shooting victims was 54.4% less than when the assault weapons ban was

not in effect…” (319). Although the ban showed a potential reduction in shootings, it did not

become permanent because it violated the Second Amendment. The ban expired in 2004 and

“After 2004, the number of [people] killed in school shootings increased dramatically…” (Gius

320). Gius argues how gun control policies remain ineffective because school shootings rapidly

increased after the ban expired (320). He validates his perspective by analyzing the amount of

school shootings during the ban and after its expiration. Another response was “In 1999, [when]

the Virginia legislature created the Virginia Center for School Safety as a state entity responsible

for training law enforcement officers to serve in schools” (Clark 92). School shootings occur

unexpectedly; thus, officers will help protect students and staffs during these situations. In order

to establish a secure and positive learning environment, Virginia increased supervision on school

campus.

Due to school shooters obtaining firearms, student protests, and U.S. legislators’

responses, a more stable and positive learning environment needs to be installed among schools

by instituting stricter gun control laws in the United States. The misusage of guns has produced

deadly school shootings, where many people, especially students, were injured and killed. These

violent acts have also disturbed the safety of students, causing them to feel endangered when

they are attending school. In order to prevent future school shootings, the U.S. government

should enact stricter gun control laws because minors, such as Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris,
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were able to purchase firearms illegally; furthermore, Adam Lanza was able to have easy access

to the guns in his own home. The temporary assault weapon ban has also proved to decrease the

amount of school shootings. The political lens reveals how certain individuals take advantage of

the right to bear arms and how students act into spreading light onto gun violence. In addition,

the political lens allows the examination of how U.S. legislators impose different policies, such

as the GFSZA and temporary ban of firearms, as a response to school shootings.

Word Count: 1288

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