By Javier Gomez, Eighth Grader The day is February 14th, supposedly the day where love “blooms” and affection is shown to family members, friends, and apparent strangers. You leave the car, with a bag of candies, a kiss blown from your mother, and an overwhelming throbbing sensation of satisfaction and joy on this blissful day. Normally, all periods are set besides you and your discomfort is not present when the bell rings for the next period of the school day like usual days. It all comes down at lunch, where friends reunite and you feel yourself in a haven, fulfilled with pathway as clear as ice. Grams, love, and other fundamental items are released and everything seems as ordinary & calm as any other school day. You’re commanded to go to your last period of the day, expecting everything to go as planned and return home just has you did earlier.
But, when the time 2:35 strikes, your world turns upside down. The sudden panic releases on yourself, and the loud murmuring of your peers begins to deepen in tone. The principal goes on the speaker and immeditates a message all throughout the school: “This is not a drill: Code Red. I repeat this is not a drill: Code Red.”. Gunshots are heard… 1,2,3, you think. A 19 year old, in the possession of an AR-15, self righteously murders 1,2,3,4,5 students and unfortunately 12 more. Panic strikes and students hide in closets, classrooms, bathrooms, and other locations that were available. You hear the utter screams and sobs of your classmates begging for their lives and desperately trying to resurrect their classmates, and teachers have been injured by bullet wounds. You look around to see glass shattered, blood splattered, and the throbbing pain that the sound of bullets introduce. 15 minutes felt like a decade and an hour felt like eternity. The doors busted with police officers and SWAT members. The day will leave a permanent scar engraved deep inside your heart. Gun violence has reached its peak since the Parkland shooting. It took 17 children to die for politicians to come up with a new bill that won’t even come to the standards that we hope it would’ve reached. The Parkland shooting was just one of the many shootings that involved a military grade weapon. The Sandy Hook, Pulse, and Vegas shooting were all shootings that involved an assault weapon. You’ve thought that politicians would’ve come up with an agreement on gun regulations after 20 KINDERGARTENERS were shot and killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza. Nothing. Or after the Gay Pulse Nightclub shooting were 50 people were killed and 53 were injured by Omar Mateen. Nothing. Maybe after 50+ innocent people were shot and 500 were injured during a country concert in Las Vegas by Stephen Paddock… Nothing. America’s system in itself is absolutely corrupted. How should a 19 year old, with mental disability go out and buy a MILITARY GRADE WEAPON? Mind you, you cannot get into a club or buy liquor legally at the age of 19. Gun Control is needed NOW. We need the ban on assault weapons. Many arguments by the NRA, The National Rifle Association, have claimed that we “need” guns to further protect us from terrorism, home invasions, and other particular situations and the Second Amendment protects our guns under no circumstances. Yet, you do not need a AK-47 to protect yourself from burglars. And how about, the Second Amendment? The second amendment was created under the Bill of Rights to protect our gun rights from any governmental procedure. As using that point as an argument, most standpoints are invalid. Courtesy that the Second Amendment was passed in the 1700’s where the only “Guns”were muskets whom can shoot three rounds per minutes. Now in present day, we have bump stocks and automatic rifles that can shoot 17 round of ammo in under 30 seconds. It’s a big change of what they were fighting for 300 years ago. We need to interpret the Second Amendment differently in order to bypass the incredibly vacuous arguments brought from the NRA and other fellow Americans who absolutely LOVE their guns and not the lives of others. That’s why I asking each and everyone of you to stand up for Gun Violence and presumed tighter Gun regulations. Yes, we are minors who much of Congress and the rest of America take into humour that we are incapable and immature to extend. But we are much more than that. Like mentioned, Congress has been failing America for its child-play to uphold tighter regulations. But our voice is louder than anyone’s else. Stand up and command for the ban of assault rifles and the bill of tighter gun laws. WE NEED CHANGE NOW & WE CAN STOP THIS.
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By Hannah Schmidt, Sixth Grader Imagine waking up and thinking that it would be a normal day. You can’t remember if you told your children that you loved them, but it wasn’t that important because you could tell them that when they got home. The thing is, your children won’t be coming home. Instead they would be lying dead on their school floor.
This is what the parents in the Parkland school shooting had to experience. These parents send their children to school every day so that they can receive an education, NOT to be told their child was shot. If their child wasn’t shot, then their children were grieving the deaths of all their friends. How are we supposed to send our kids to school not knowing if they’ll come home safe? People say that they’re going to do something about the shootings, but we all know that actions speak louder than words. There have been about 12 school shootings in the year 2018. It’s the beginning of a new year and we’re already off to a bad start. We all send our prayers to the victims and their families, but we need to take more action. How many more shootings need to occur before something is done? How many more innocent lives need to be taken? Our prayers can only go so far. By Angelina Arnedo, Sixth Grader When someone dies their soul might be gone, but their memories are kept.
Kept together so that even though they are unheard and unseen they will always be in the minds of the people that loved them. People say that their life flashes before their eyes before they die, and imagining that for all the kids in the world that had to experience that is unimaginable. People thinking that they could have done something to prevent the moment that changed everything. That moment that you think that everything is fine, but then you have to face the reality. Death. By Amelie Joie Morales, Sixth Grader Could it be possible for a new light?
Maybe things won’t be such a fright! May I fly away upon this beautiful day? This world is filled with wonders. So, let me fly away upon this beautiful day! Today is a wonderful day too good for me to stay away! I just love this day. Or else is something Unclear? Why is everybody looking at the news? Is there something to hear For us? Now, I look out the window the sky is grey. Black has come in the way. I run far away. I hope this is untrue. I’m Unclear I’m afraid of the things to hear I don’t know what’s going to appear Now I know Life is short Don’t be afraid to take a stand People say Now I hear of the news to appear People are crying, people are dying, I’m in bed with hope that everyone’s lying People are dead now I’m scared now I don’t understand why People are dead now. A gun shot is what I heard A gun shot is what I know Why would someone kill A man has killed. A man has killed. A man has killed. PEOPLE are hiding People are dying at a simple school. Today is no longer a beautiful day Now schools are making their way Everyone wants to stay safe. People are dying People are crying I’m crying myself to sleep. At any moment At any second Anything could happen! Those kids that died Were to young. This is unfair. Whoever’s out there Please make this right Don’t make it a fright. |
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