If you have your driver’s license, you had to attend a driver’s education course then pass a written and field test before you could legally drive. This is because you’re operating a two-ton vehicle that can harm people. 

So why are people not required to take a safety course and pass exams to own a gun?  They’re just as deadly as a car, potentially more. 

In 2023 alone, there have already been over 40 mass shootings in the United States. Looking into these statistics from 1990-2023, fewer than half of the mass shootings in the United States were exacted with a legal gun registered to the individual who did the shooting. 

As a high school student, I fear that one of my classmates could have access to a gun in their backpack. It’s not right that I should live in fear, especially in a place that is supposed to be safe. 

Recently, a  6-year-old boy in Virginia brought a gun into school and shot his teacher. Each day 12 kids die from gun violence in America, but still there are no common sense laws restricting guns.

The age that you can legally buy a gun is 18 years old in most states, while in only nine others the legal age is 21.  But there are no requirements to assure a person knows how to safely use the weapon. America needs to put laws in place so the people in this country can feel safe. 

Schools, malls, concerts and parks shouldn’t be a shooting range for disgruntled people. A course on gun safety, psychological screenings, background checks and a higher age limit to legally purchase a gun are not unreasonable and do not infringe on Second Amendment rights. It’s time for common sense.