“No more silence, end gun violence!” These words echoed countless times through the grounds of Erie High School today as students marched to fight one issue; gun violence. Gun violence in America has become a disturbingly frequent occurrence in recent years, sparking a national conversation about how to protect the country’s children. 

“We are in an epidemic of gun violence in America,” says Lauren Adams, an Erie High School student and the president and founder of Students Demand Action. Students Demand Action is an organization of young activists committed to ending gun violence in America. This organization has reached the eyes of millions in recent years, including those who protested today.

“I’m tired of going to school every day and having to worry about whether I’m going to get shot,” says an anonymous student, “I don’t think that’s too much to ask,” they continued. Of course that’s not too much to ask, but the real question is, how should the United States go about implementing changes, and what changes are to be made? Those aligned with liberal viewpoints argue that stricter gun control measures are necessary, including background checks on firearm purchases nationally, and even banning assault weapons altogether. However, others affiliated with conservative policies claim that this method violates their second amendment rights. One of the most common arguments voiced by conservatives is that: a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun. 

“B.S!” The fact is that right now, if a good guy has access to a gun, so does a bad guy. Last year alone, there were 58,750 gun related deaths and injuries in the United States, including 20,200 people this world will never have back. Not only that, but the leading cause of death of children in the United States is gun violence. Gun violence isn’t exclusive to big cities, either. There is a student at Erie High School, Sharon Gambou, who is a survivor of a shooting at Prairie View High School just eighteen miles away. 

“I’ve been in a shooting, my brothers have been in shootings, and last week my little brother was put on lockdown,” says Gambou, “I understand that we have our rights and freedoms, but to what extent,” she asks, “When do our children stop dying,” she cries.

Gun violence remains a critical issue facing this country, and until the whole country can align on this, nothing will change. As of this moment, unlicensed sellers of firearms are not required to run background checks on their customers, meaning that a completely legal gun can end up in the hands of a school shooter. 

“There should be no debate,” says Gambou, “when children are dying, we’ve had enough,” she continues, “please, just listen.”