Gun Laws And Increase In School Shootings In The United States

The first recorded school shooting in America dates back to 1764, during Pontiac’s War. Since then, hundreds have occurred, claiming many lives (Galvin). In the modern era, the rarity of these events has been steadily decreasing, which may be caused by the confusion that surrounds gun laws and regulations. The new debate over this issue is likely due to the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Since that event, about 65 people who have committed a school shooting have referenced Columbine as a motive. In addition, there has been over 250 shootings since that fateful day in 1999 (Pearle). To deal with these tragic occurrences, the government has opened the debate on gun laws and regulations. But this debate often leads to officials being unable to make up their minds or whole groups of people being split on their opinion. This causes a stalemate that does not help our nation 's current situation. Today, the government is not doing enough to prevent school shootings. At the root of the problem is gun regulation in general. These lead to confusion, likely contributing to the increase in school shootings that have occurred. According to the law, one is not allowed to possess a gun if: they are underage (younger than 18 years old), they have been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor, they have been convicted of a crime that caused imprisonment for over a year, they have been determined to be a danger to themselves or others, they have been committed to a