Why America Is The Problem

We are only 47 days into the year of 2018. And in that time there has been 30 mass shootings in the United States. There has almost been as many shootings as days in 2018.

No matter what your beliefs are about gun control in America, or your political views regarding our president or congress, 3 mass shootings in the span of 152 days is not okay.

On Valentine's Day, a 19 year old purchased an assault weapon used for mass destruction and entered a Florida high school, murdering 17 people and injuring 15. Most of the people killed, were teenagers.

I am a 20 year old college student going to school in Boston. When I heard the news about the mass shooting after a long day of classes, the anxious feeling I had walking to and from class every day on the busy streets of Boston grew, I was now terrified.

The next day, I had to go to class pretending that everything was okay. I had to open my books and pretend I wasn't terrified, that in the next moment for all I knew, someone could walk into my classroom and shoot me, and all my classmates to death.

I mean, this wasn't the first time right.

When President Trump addressed the nation after the horrific incident, he focused on mental health and school security. But where was the focus on gun laws?

In the United States, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives the right to an American to bear arms. Not every state in the US has the same gun laws, most require that you need to carry a permit in order to purchase one. But it is easy to obtain one. You can purchase an assault rifle used in battle that is created to destroy and take out anything and everything all at once, and you only have to be 18. 

Like the shooter who killed those innocent 17 people on Valentine's Day, who easily walked into that high school in Florida and fired that assault rifle that he purchased.

The 19 year old knew what he was doing as he opened the door to the high school, carrying the gun at his side with a plan on his mind. At first glance, you might think "oh of course he has some type of problem, he killed 17 people for Christ's sake." But the problem here is not about mental health. No matter what, people with mental health problems are going to exist in the United States. Not all of them are mass murderers. Most of them AREN'T mass murders. 

And yeah if security got better in schools or places where a large amount of people are going to be; that being a concert, a game, or any event in general, maybe these people planning mass murders behind the scenes would have a hard time figuring out how they were going to carry their plan out. 

But security is still NOT the problem. 

We HAVE improved security immensely over the years, but of course these mass shootings and terrorist attacks continue to happen.

It's America's damn gun laws. 

President Trump, how about you make America great again by actually doing something? How can you call America great when our future generation is being killed by the guns that are being sold legally in this country? How can you call America great when the top cause of death in America is because of gun violence? 

And for us, our job as American citizens is to pay attention to the signs. In this day and age you can never trust anyone. The teens who went to school with the 19 year old shooter knew something was up, but never knew what was coming. For all you know, your brother could leave the house tomorrow morning, and your parents will get a call that the mass shooting committed, the one all over the news, happened because of your brother. 

And no matter what your beliefs, political views, or religious beliefs are. Mass shootings should be considered terrorist attacks. 

The definition of a terrorist according to dictionary.com is "a person, usually a member of a group, who advocates terrorism." 

Intentionally using violence to create terror or harm because of one's beliefs, whether religious, ideological, or political.

Listen, watch, and never trust anyone. Living in the 21st century, unfortunately it's the hard truth. We never know what's going to happen when we walk out the door in the morning to our busy lives. 

You never know if it's your last day, especially living in this country.