dannno
03-23-2018, 02:21 PM
High schoolers still like their guns, even after Parkland
They’re young, fierce and — at least for the moment — the most prominent voices in America’s debate over guns.
But not all members of “Generation Columbine (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/22/generation-columbine-has-never-known-world-without-school-shootings/361656002/)” cling to the rhetoric making household names out of some of their peers, those students calling for tighter gun control after the deadly Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Many American high schoolers do not blame school shootings on guns and don't argue the answer is tighter restrictions on firearms. It's a view at odds with many of their classmates, yet born from the same safety concerns.
“There’s many things that go into a solution for this, and it’s not guns,” said Melanie Clark, an 18-year-old high school senior from Tallahassee. “We’re definitely in the minority for believing that it’s not guns.”
As gun-control advocates their age gain popularity and others cast their generation as anti-firearm, pro-gun students feel at times overlooked. But polling suggests young people aren’t overwhelmingly for gun control.
A USA TODAY/Ipsos poll (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/22/poll-columbine-generation-gun-violence-defining-fear/441446002/) taken after the Parkland shooting found fewer than half of students 13 to 17 think tightening gun laws and background checks would prevent mass shootings. The Pew Research Center, in an April 2017 poll (http://www.people-press.org/2017/06/22/public-views-about-guns/#age), found 39% of people 18-29 said protecting gun rights is of chief importance. Compare that to 58% who favor gun control.
Pro-gun high school students told USA TODAY the school shooting problem is complex, but they maintain guns aren’t the problem. They say more can be done as it relates to school security, mental health and background checks. Some argue those calling for gun control are uninformed about and unfamiliar with firearms.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/03/23/kids-gun-control-stance-after-parkland/444834002/
They’re young, fierce and — at least for the moment — the most prominent voices in America’s debate over guns.
But not all members of “Generation Columbine (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/22/generation-columbine-has-never-known-world-without-school-shootings/361656002/)” cling to the rhetoric making household names out of some of their peers, those students calling for tighter gun control after the deadly Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Many American high schoolers do not blame school shootings on guns and don't argue the answer is tighter restrictions on firearms. It's a view at odds with many of their classmates, yet born from the same safety concerns.
“There’s many things that go into a solution for this, and it’s not guns,” said Melanie Clark, an 18-year-old high school senior from Tallahassee. “We’re definitely in the minority for believing that it’s not guns.”
As gun-control advocates their age gain popularity and others cast their generation as anti-firearm, pro-gun students feel at times overlooked. But polling suggests young people aren’t overwhelmingly for gun control.
A USA TODAY/Ipsos poll (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/22/poll-columbine-generation-gun-violence-defining-fear/441446002/) taken after the Parkland shooting found fewer than half of students 13 to 17 think tightening gun laws and background checks would prevent mass shootings. The Pew Research Center, in an April 2017 poll (http://www.people-press.org/2017/06/22/public-views-about-guns/#age), found 39% of people 18-29 said protecting gun rights is of chief importance. Compare that to 58% who favor gun control.
Pro-gun high school students told USA TODAY the school shooting problem is complex, but they maintain guns aren’t the problem. They say more can be done as it relates to school security, mental health and background checks. Some argue those calling for gun control are uninformed about and unfamiliar with firearms.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/03/23/kids-gun-control-stance-after-parkland/444834002/