17.

17 lives lost. 17 friends gone. 17 empty places in a family.

Why are 17 people dead after a shooting in Parkland, FL? Because a 19-year-old named Nikolas Cruz had access to an AR-15. Why a 19-year-old, or any citizen for that matter, had access to an assault weapon has been a question weighing on the minds of people in the US, especially for the friends and family of the Parkland victims.

Gun control is not a matter of Republican v. Democrat. It’s a matter of keeping the US and it’s residents safe. The US has fallen severely behind in keeping us safe by allowing 18-year-olds to purchase military grade weapons. They’ve fallen behind by adding guns to the problem, because they’ll make the situation “safer.” They’ve fallen behind by trying to arm teachers, instead of just letting them teach. We need to be better. We need to protect the residents in the US. These reasons alone are why we need gun laws.

In the US, you can buy an assault rifle at the age of 18, although in some states the age has been moved up to 21, with little to no waiting period. The gun dealer just has to wait for a background check to clear, which can only take a matter of minutes, and then they can sell the weapon to the buyer, according to Giffords Law Center.

President Trump has said he would support an age increase from 18 to 21 to buy an assault rifle. This isn’t solving anything it’s just going to change the age of these mass shooters. What needs to be done is assault rifles should only be at the disposal of military personnel. There is no reason why any US citizen should have an assault rifle, or armor piercing bullets for that matter.

On Feb. 21, the Broward County Sheriff, Scott Israel, ordered deputies to carry rifles, including AR-15’s, in any Broward County school they guard, according to the Sun Sentinel. This isn’t a fix to the our nation’s growing issue, it’s another stop on the long road to gun control. In the case of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, there was an armed officer on the campus who stood outside the building, where the carnage took place, for four minutes without acting. This is a blaring reason why nobody should be armed on a school campus, because, even with a weapon, action might still not be taken.

Also on Feb. 21, President Trump, in a listening session with school shooting survivors and families, seemed keen on the idea that we should arm teachers and administration. Several people clapped back at that session and said the responsibilities on those teachers and administrators would just add more stress to a hard job they already have to do.

The solution isn’t adding more guns to a situation, it’s taking them out. It’s not banning guns, it’s just stricter laws that keep people from purchasing a gun that shouldn’t have one.