Even in the wake of the third anniversary of the infamous Sandy Hook shooting, the issue of gun control is contentious as ever. Though the issue remains one of the most prominent political debates in American politics today, one fact can be agreed upon: gun violence endangers American lives. It is the responsibility of American politicians and constituents alike to minimize gun violence in order to ensure the safety of the American people. The attitude of many Americans–though not all–toward gun control was encapsulated in the recent New York Times editorial “End the Gun Epidemic in America,” notably the first opinion piece to hit the front page of the world-renowned newspaper since 1920. What the New York Times editorial failed to specify, however, was the issue of school shootings. As the Minuteman Editorial Staff, we call upon our policy makers to ensure the safety of students in American schools.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a study of active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013. The data they found concluded that the second most common location of these active shooter incidents were educational environments, and that some of these incidents involved some of the highest casualty numbers. As students ourselves, we find these results alarming. The specific number of school shootings that have occurred in recent years is, of course, debatable, due to the ambiguous nature of what exactly defines a school shooting. The Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund identified 161 school shootings since 2013, which averages nearly one a week. PolitiFact Oregon, on the other hand, narrowed Everytown’s list down to only 35 school shootings. But whether it be 161 or 35, the number is not the issue. The issue is that even today, American students face the risk of being shot to death simply for showing up to school. The New York Times’ editorial accurately pointed out that the motives of a shooter do not matter to the dead victims. It is our responsibility to ensure that these victims did not die in vain, to take action in their honor in order to prevent future atrocities.

Sandy Hook stands apart from most recorded school shootings in the U.S. This incident is unique not only in the gravity of its casualties, but also in the age of its orchestrator. Adam Lanza was 20 years old, and most of his victims were first-grade children. As opponents to gun control point out, we cannot forestall every single criminal and prevent every single shooting. This is true. However, the majority of school shootings are actually carried out by minors against their fellow students. Emotional and irrational teenagers that have quick and easy access to guns, which enable them to shoot their friends after getting in a fight before thinking through the consequences of their actions, are not dangerous felons. We must provide a greater blockade to the access of guns not only to save the lives of potential victims, but also to prevent the lifelong incarceration of American citizens whose cerebral cortexes have not yet fully formed.

Effective steps that can be taken to ensure security include increased background checks and restrictions in the purchasing of guns, particularly for those living with minors. Though many advocates of unrestricted gun laws would oppose these measures and cite the Second Amendment’s “Right of the people to keep and bear arms”, we would like to point out another significant piece of legislation. In the 1919 Supreme Court case Schenck vs. United States, the Supreme Court overruled the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, ruling that “The question in every case is whether the words used are in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent”. Rather than words, the same approach should be taken today towards guns. The death of American students in their school environments as a result of poor gun legislation is unquestionably a substantive evil, an evil that the American government has every power to prevent. As Newark Academy students ourselves, we are nervous for the safety of future Academy students and students nationwide if no action is taken to prevent school shootings and to ensure the security of the school environments in our country.