January 4, tragedy struck. Four students, an administrator, and the principal of Perry High School were shot by a 17-year-old student. Students were just arriving for morning classes on the first day after winter break. According to CNN, Perry’s principal acted valiantly in an effort to protect the students at Perry High. Principal Dan Marburger and 6th grade student Ahmir Jolliff unfortunately succumbed to their injuries.
Stricter enforcement of existing gun legislation and new legislation that limits access to weapons will prevent future shootings in Iowa. According to Giffords Law Center, “Iowa prohibits any person from storing or leaving a loaded firearm that is “not secured by a trigger lock mechanism, placed in a securely locked box or container, or placed in some other location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure from a minor under the age of fourteen years, if the person knows or has reason to believe that a minor under the age of fourteen years is likely to gain access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor’s parent, guardian, or person having charge of the minor”.
The issue with this legislation is enforcement. Teenagers are obtaining guns at a higher and more frequently. If this gun legislation was enforced, kids would have less access to these weapons, lessening the risk of school shootings. According to The Government Accountability Office, almost half of school shooters are current or former students. House File 654, which would allow weapons to be kept in vehicles parked outside of schools, businesses, and other locations, was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives and placed on the unfinished business schedule in the Iowa Senate. It is this kind of legislation that is causing school shootings to rise.
Because Iowa’s legislators are not prioritizing gun legislation and are even worsening the issue of gun violence in Iowa, the responsibility is falling on students and constituents. High school students organized and carried out protests across the state. Students are joining activist organizations, like March for Our Lives Iowa. The duty to protect students at school and people in the public should not fall on Iowa’s young people. However, due to the inaction of Kim Reynolds and other pro-gun officials, it has.
