The Gatepost Editorial: We can’t turn our backs on gun violence

By The Gatepost Editorial Board On April 17, a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee, killing two university employees and injuring six other individuals. According to CNN, this marked 81 mass shootings in the United States this year. The Gatepost Editorial Board is disheartened by the inadequate government response and lack of public outcry regarding this tragedy. The lack of calls to action from both the federal and state governments correlates with a sense of normalcy and routine in regard to tragedies of this magnitude. Mass shootings are a persistent threat that requires systemic change at the federal level. However, gun control has been a major point of contention between both political parties for decades. On April 17, President Donald Trump made a statement about the Florida State shooting, saying, “These things are terrible, but the gun doesn’t do the shooting - people do.” Trump said he is a “big advocate” of the Second Amendment and suggested he is likely not going to support any legislation regarding gun control. Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump has issued an executive order to examine any gun control laws passed under the Biden administration in order to come up with a plan to undo them, according to the Giffords Organization. He has also implemented a Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force to develop strategies to protect and promote compliance with the Second Amendment, the Giffords Organization reported. This kind of rhetoric from the executive branch of the federal government is incredibly discouraging to a generation of students who have grown up fearing gun violence in their academic spaces. For students, it’s not about the right to bear arms - it’s about getting an education in a safe and secure environment. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, 200 Florida State students and faculty members marched to the Florida Capitol to demand lawmakers enact common-sense gun laws and advocate for the squashing of a bill that would allow adults as young as 18 to purchase a long gun, which is a firearm with a longer barrel. Florida State students accused their lawmakers of “complicity in mass shootings” by supporting policies that normalize gun violence, according to another Tallahassee Democrat article. The students also expressed outrage over the 60-second video posted on X by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in which he offered his prayers to the Florida State community, but did not vow to introduce any gun law reform legislation. Here in Massachusetts, we are fortunate to have wide-reaching gun control laws that were strengthened after the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. After the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017, Massachusetts became the first state to ban bump stocks, a gun accessory that allows the user to fire a gun rapidly, according to The New York Times. According to The Boston Globe, activists often point to Massachusetts gun control legislation as a “blueprint” for the country. In July 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed a sweeping gun reform bill that cracked down on illegal ghost guns and strengthened violence prevention, according to mass.gov. Even with these protections, we as college students can acknowledge the fear and uncertainty affecting us after years of partaking in school-shooting drills and lockdowns as well as witnessing gun violence in the news. In a nation where gun violence is increasingly disregarded by government officials, we have an opportunity to use our voices to call attention to this contentious issue. There are organizations working tirelessly to amplify that mission. For instance, Sandy Hook Promise was founded by the family members of several victims who were killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Sandy Hook Promise’s mission is to “educate and empower” students to prevent violence in their schools, homes, and communities while teaching them how to recognize and intervene when individuals may be socially isolated or at risk of hurting themselves or others, according to their website. Their program “Know the Signs” has provided over 26.5 million people with the knowledge and skills to help prevent violence. “Together, we have made significant strides in preventing gun violence, strengthening youth leadership, increasing empathy, and saving lives. At a time when violence and divisiveness are impacting communities across the country, we remain committed to advancing common-ground solutions,” their website says. The Giffords Organization, led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, is specifically focused on “taking on the gun lobby” and introducing legislation such as universal background checks and community-based intervention strategies to make the country a safer place, their website says. David Hogg, who was a student at Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida when the Parkland school shooting happened in 2017, created an activist movement called Leaders We Deserve. The organization is dedicated to helping millennials and members of Generation Z get elected to Congress and state legislatures, according to the Leaders We Deserve website. Hoggs and several of his Parkland classmates also founded the March for Our Lives, which their website states is a project designed to turn “grief and fear into action,” and “mobilize an entire generation of young people to step up and demand change.” There are millions of us in our generation who are seeking change, and our voices can be heard collectively through organizations like these. Advocating for gun-violence victims and remembering these tragedies rather than letting them go unnoticed is something students can continue to use their voices for. The tragedy that unfolded on Florida State’s campus could have been prevented. Although our president doesn’t condemn gun violence, we do.