Katie Hunter | Depute Editor-In-Chief
Last Wednesday, the world woke to the news of yet another tragic shooting. This time, in Marlory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, leaving 17 innocent people dead.
Each time I see ‘shooting’, ‘attack’ or ‘mass killings’ in the headlines, it makes me question the thoughts of the killer, how one human being can feel as though they are worthy of taking another’s life. After all, I have been brought up to believe that life is ever so precious. Perhaps it is down to the influence of my own Catholic education or due to the fact that here in Scotland, it is illegal to be in possession of a handgun, the weapon which has been used so cruelly to inflict such terror.
In Scotland, the Firearms (Amendment) Act was put in place in 1997. It ensured that registration was mandatory to all those who owned a gun and prohibited certain weaponry such as semi-automatic or pump action weapons. In addition, years later, private ownership of all handguns in England, Wales and Scotland was banned. Consequently, only police officers, members of the armed forces or individuals with written permission from the Home Secretary may lawfully own a handgun. In the United States, you can declare it is your constitutional right to bear arms whereas in the UK there are hours worth of paperwork required to prove to police officers that you are not a danger to society.
Some may ask what inspired the radical introduction of such legislation when handling weaponry of this description. Without a doubt, the dangerous situation in Scotland in the years leading up to 1996 was highlighted through the atrocities of the Dunblane shooting of 1996 – a horrific attack which saw Thomas Hamilton enter the gym hall of a local primary school whilst in possession of four handguns and kill 16 children between the ages of five and six as well as their teacher.
So how has the situation changed in schools today? The Government was quick to ensure security in schools was stepped up. Our school as we know it today has a much stricter system with regards to entry. Visitors cannot walk straight into the school building – they must have entry authorised by office staff. In addition, there are a number of gates and doors which are locked during school hours. Personally, I feel more secure following these Government measures, however, I recognise that there is still some way to go with regards to general safety and not just in our schools.
I am by no means implying that Scottish schools are completely secure. In fact, hate crime certainly continues to be a huge issue with the weapon of choice tending to be the knife. Some argue it is rather concerning that these are too readily available – a completely understandable view, noting in the period 2015-16, 3,111 incidents regarding carrying an offensive weapon were reported, according to Police Scotland. Perhaps it would be beneficial to introduce metal detectors in each school – an initiative which was trialed in London, a city where last year, 17 under 25’s were tragically killed from incidents involving a knife. However, it is reassuring to see that these figures have fallen drastically from the 10,110 reported incidents in the 2006-07 time period. Clearly, our authorities are working tirelessly to make our streets safer.
I do feel secure living in a country where the authorities are on my side, using dangerous weaponry solely as a last resort. It’s true, we have our flaws. You only need to turn on the nightly news to see the disunity that ‘Brexit’ is causing. However, I’d undoubtedly rather live in a country which sees people campaign safely each day about subjects they feel passionate about rather than a country which sees innocent people put to death for expressing their opinion or simply trying to receive an education.
Perhaps these are all ideas which America should take on board. For a start, stricter gun laws would ensure that these, in the words of Donald Trump, “savage sickos” do not have the ability to simply purchase a gun from their local supermarket. Last week’s shooting has certainly brought the question of gun laws back into the political arena with hundreds gathering in Fort Lauderdale to demand stricter gun controls be put in place to protect innocent children.
The situation is now in the Government’s hands. Trump had been left to make the big decision: should he continue to allow such easy access to guns and therefore permit the shooters to raise the figure of 300 school shootings across the US since 2013 (Newtown Gun Control Advocacy Group estimation) or change the way in which the country operates? At the moment, he claims:
….If a potential “sicko shooter” knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won’t go there…problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won’t work!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
It’s clear that the Republican have very little intention of changing things and moving forward in a positive direction. His solution is incoherently weak, once more relying completely upon violence to discourage those who may have serious mental health conditions from putting a gun to somebody’s head. I’m sure I stand with many when I say that I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable attending a school where my teacher could access a gun as easily as a whiteboard marker at any given time.
I am optimistic that I can envisage a future for my fellow young people in America which does not involve guns as a means of mediation and where we see an end to such needless killings. However, this is unlikely to change under the Trump administration. Until the next presidential election in 2020, I pray that Americans never have to face such tragedy again.
