PHOTO COURTESY OF LATIMES.COM

A Texas trooper is seen paying respect to the 21 people killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May of 2022.

In light of recent events, let’s talk about something that is a serious problem in America: gun violence. 

According to Johns Hopkins University of Public Health, about 44,000 people died from firearm violence in 2024 alone. 

But think about it, we are not even halfway done with this year, and we have already heard about more than a dozen school shootings happening across the country. And what has been done? Very little, as usual.

Apprehending the shooter and giving counselling to the schools affected is simply not enough and it does nothing to stop the root cause.

Not only school shootings, but gun violence in public is on the rise. How is it that easy to walk into the store and purchase a gun, when the question is, it is really about defending yourself?

In Australia, on Dec. 14, 2025, there was an attack on Bondi Beach by an Islamic terrorist group. This attack was the worst terrorist attack in Australia’s history, and the deadliest shooting since 1996. Yes, you read that right, 1996.

I am not trying to compare the countries. There are so many things different about the two. Americans have more rights to defend themselves, and they absolutely cannot do that other than by carrying guns everywhere. 

But the point I am trying to make is, right after this attack, Australia made its gun laws stricter because they knew this would solve the problem. 

Hear that? They actually wanted a permanent solution. 

You can be 18 and buy a gun here. How is that helping? Your frontal lobe is not even developed by then and you are telling me you can go buy a deadly weapon? 

No proper metal detectors on doorways, no thorough checking of areas for firearms, no counseling for people who are showing early signs of violence. 

If there are not going to be proper procedures in place, then I guess these events are bound to happen. 

My heart goes out to victims of gun violence, but we as a country–a society–need to do better. We need to make sure that symptoms of violence are not brushed off as teenage angst and that gun violence victims get proper care and treatment. 

We need more regulated laws and stricter enforcement on who can own guns and for what reason. This will make campuses safer overall and may prevent issues like what happened to our campus last week. 

Categories: Opinion