Effect of School Shooting in Florida

School shootings have become more common over the years, in 2018 alone there have been seven school shootings. There have been a total of fifty-seven school shootings in thirty-six different countries between 2000 and 2010 (Chicago Tribune). School shootings have lead to both social and political change. There have been several studies regarding the attendance as well as the performance of the students academically. The Florida school shootings have lead to a change in New York politics and has led to a national school walkout day.

Throughout history there have been new gun laws passed in order to keep people safe and this includes today as well after the school shootings.

These studies show how students have been directly impacted by school shootings. Louis-Philippe Beland and Dongwoo Kim have done research on the impact school shootings have had on students. According to the research the schools with shootings have had a decrease in new incoming students however the returning number of students has remained the same. Beland and Kim also looked at test scores and it was found out that school test scores were lowered. They believed it could have been due to the decrease in students attending the school, however they looked at student-level data and found out the lower test scores were not based on population decrease. They also looked at graduation rates, attendances and suspensions and they did not find any results. According to Beland and Kim the overall results were “Attending a high school where a homicide takes place prompts trauma, and that impacts students school experience and achievement”. The impact of the school shootings on students is indeed a social change; students who attended those schools had a different education as well as environment.

Several days after the Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Andrew Cuomo the New York Governor announced a “State for Gun Safety” initiative (Dave Lucas). In reaction to the Florida shooting students as well as teachers decided to have a national school walkout day in protest of wanting stricter gun laws. Certain school districts were against students and teachers participating in the walkout and decided if they participated in the walkout there would be consequences. Due to the increase in threats after the Florida shooting there has been an increased police presence in schools. Carl Korn who is a New York State United Teachers union spokesman states, “We can’t think of a worse idea than arming teachers. Schools need to be safe, nurturing places for teaching and for learning, places where students and teachers and community members feel like there’s an environment that’s protective and all-embracing”. Korn also states that schools should have “doors have locks and buzzer systems and cameras” which is a good requirement since it can help with the safety of children in schools. In result to the school shooting in Florida after the school walkout students raised more than three million dollars to combat gun violence.

Due to the excessive amount of school shootings recently there have been new gun laws added to keep everyone safe. In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed The National Firearms Act, which he did after many high profile gang crimes. The law imposed a $200 tax on transfers of machine guns, short-barrel rifles and shotguns, and it required gun owners to register those weapons. In 1968 The Gun Control Act was passed after President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. The act banned mail orders of all weapons with no purpose for sport such as interstate handguns. Also the sale of firearms to minors, felons, fugitives, drug addicts and people who were committed to a mental institution was banned. It also required people who sell guns to have records of the sales as well as sell them to people who are properly licensed. In 1986 some of these restrictions were no longer around due to much arguing from gun advocates and the Firearm’s Owners’ Protection Act was introduced. The act changed the selling of weapons, for example dealers were able to sell rifles and shotguns through the mail and gun dealers didn’t have to worry about federal inspections.

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