Leah Vaung, a freshman at Applewood High School, was sitting at her lunch table with all of her friends talking about what they would do over their summer break when all of a sudden, she heard a POP! It echoed down the hall. She immediately thought that someone had popped a chip bag. But in middle school, popping a chip bag would follow with “oos” and “aws” as the culprit got yelled at but this bag, it was followed with screams of terror. This popping sound continued to happen about 3 more times and each time it seemed as if the screams got closer and closer to her.

It felt like an eternity hiding in the corner of the cafeteria helplessly crying as all she could do was hope that everything would be okay. Then the shot went off again. This time the glass of her cafeteria doors shattered. Her friend on the floor slouched down next to her. She wondered how anybody could fall asleep in this condition but then the brick red blood started to show through their school's navy blue uniform shirt.

Leah tried to hold in her screams but she couldn't. BOOM! The weapon had gone off again but this time, she didn't know where it had gone. But then it hit her. She was just shot. It had gone straight through her shirt but before she started to finally feel anything or even think, everything went dark.

She woke up on a stretcher with her family around her. It turned out that she passed out from blood loss. The doctor said that she and her parents were very lucky. Leah's parents almost went home without their child in the car with them. Her life was almost cut short by a 17 year old from her school whose mental health was neglected. This is the sad reality many parents face every year due to a lack of gun laws in schools and school- like facilities.   

Gun violence has always been a problem in Kentucky but, as of recently the dangers are appearing in schools more and more often. It is affecting families all across the United States. The kentucky gun violence pdf states that “In Kentucky, an average of 70 children and teens die by guns every year”(2)  Parents expect to go to work and when they come home their kid is ready to be picked up from school but every year families have to come to the harsh reality that school isn't always a safe place. Despite our current gun laws stating that you aren't allowed to shoot someone, “at least 185 children, educators, and others have been killed by gun violence at American schools since the Columbine massacre in 1999” (1). After all of this trauma, the kids who do survive shootings, experience severe hardships and they lack the help they need.  We see that “In Kentucky, an average of 70 children and teens die by guns every year”(3) So when there are many gun shootings in schools with thousands of kids, many more kids have severe trauma but most people can not afford the care they need.  So, due to the risk of death and mass shootings in schools across the US, the federal government should create stronger gun laws for school staff and more affordable trauma care for kids across the districts. 

America's lack of affordable mental health care is directly linked to the lack of gun safety in schools because our government still hasn't picked up on the continuous cycle of harm. “The earliest known United States shooting to happen on school property was the Pontiac's Rebellion school massacre on July 26, 1764” (3) Many of the shootings we experience around schools were caused by young people who are or were mentally neglected. The shooting in oxford highschool was a sophomore student and “His parents [were] charged with involuntary manslaughter; authorities say they failed to secure a gun and ignored the mental health needs of their son before the shootings.”(2) But while shootings happen all of the time the government hasn't done much to fix the issue because people see guns as a representation of their freedom due to our second amendment.  This issue has finally been recognized as “the worst period for this violence has been in the 2021–2022 school year, which saw nearly quadruple the average number of gunfire incidents since 2013.”(3) States the public safety commission. The idea that teens' mental health doesn't get affected super easily is affecting people and can lead them to “push down their trauma and their experiences, and it can lead to some really dangerous places,”(5) The dangers of gun violence is rising and the government is still lacking in providing the care others need.

This violence is leading to another cycle of harm including suicide and anxiety through out all ages. The issue of gun violence is getting more and more prominent and people are seeing a lot more antidepressants being prescribed. Researchers from Stanford University did a study on these pills and concluded “the average monthly number of antidepressant prescriptions written to youth under age 20 by providers located near schools that experienced a fatal shooting was 21.3 percent higher”(4) than in the past. If you take into consideration that kids can take these medicines for other reasons, it only takes out a few kids. This spike is leading to parents' fear for their child as if they don't get their children taken care of, they fear that they could lose their child like other families across the US. This is likely do to the unfortunate statues of our suicide rate. We see that “Every year, an average of 487 people in Kentucky die by gun suicides and 39 are wounded by gun suicide attempts—a rate of 10.4 suicides and 0.9 suicide attempts per 100,000 people.”(2) The sad truth behind being traumatized often ends up leading to death. We see that many of our witnesses end up harming themselves or killing themselves based on the stress they are under.

Guns are no longer being used for harmless purposes like hunting but are now being used for manslaughter.  People of all ages used to carry guns and use them for harmless activities but as that is all changing, it is leading to deaths across all of kentucky and as of 2020, the gun violence deaths have increased by 46%.(CDC average statistics.) As new occurrences with gun violence appear, it seems like that starts a chain of people going against the current laws and almost human hunting. This is leading to “ Kentucky [having] the 23rd-highest rate of gun violence in the US.”(CDC guidance 1)  Guns are being used for much more than just overall shootings. Teens and young adults are now entering schools targeting specific kids. This trauma is building up on kids and some of the targets who were missed feel responsible for others' death. Kids are now not coming home to parents who send their kids to school to have fun and learn and it is due to the new likelihood that guns are not used for harmless activities anymore such as hunting or shooting in gun ranges.

Antidepressants need to have a more affordable way to be accessed. As of the recent shootings, mental health is dropping. Children are experiencing more and more death throughout their lives and it is starting a harmful cycle. Stanford University found that their “research indicates a higher rate of antidepressant use among those exposed to a school shooting in the years following the gun violence.”(1) But the people who get these medicines have the money for them. What about people who can't afford to get the help they need? This leads to people pushing down their feelings to cope and lead research to find “an increase in deaths (including suicides and accidents) among residents of Jefferson County, Colorado, who were between 14 and 18 at the time of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School.”(Slater, 2)  All of the pushing down of emotions leads kids in depression and raises their risk of hurting themselves or others. Christina Caron, a reporter for the Well section at The New York Times,  found “the mental health toll doesn’t just affect those closest to gun violence. It also ripples through a community and the nation.”(Caron, 3)

Schools need to get technology to help students through this violence. All schools are being affected by gun mass shootings. From huge private schools to tiny public schools in the middle of nowhere. Everyone is affected by violence.  Research indicates “the worst period for this violence has been in the 2021–2022 school year, which saw nearly quadruple the average number of gunfire incidents since 2013.” (everytown, 1)  This means that schools must use all their possible input to create a plan so kids can be safe. There are reports that  provide “a proactive plan to prevent active shooter incidents and, more broadly, address gun violence in all its forms in America’s schools.” (3) But we have not seen any major changes to Jefferson county's safety system. 

Families go home without their kids everyday due to gun violence in schools. This leads to trauma build up for other students and can eventually lead to harm.  So, due to the risk of death and mass shootings in schools across the US, the federal government should create stronger gun laws for school staff and more affordable trauma care for kids across the districts. This will lead to less harm through schools and a happier and safer community.