On the morning of September 4, 2024, students peacefully rode the bus to Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, unaware of the danger that awaited them just hours later. At 10:24 AM, freshman Colt Gray would open fire. 52 seconds later he would surrender to school safety officials, but the damage was already done. Wielding a semi-automatic rifle, Colt injured nine students and tragically killed two students and two teachers.
The shooting reignited the national debate on gun control. In 2024 alone, there were 58 school shootings, leaving 28 students and teachers dead, along with at least 72 more injured. Over the past decade, gun-related deaths have surged, with non-suicide gun deaths 34.53% higher in 2023 than they were in 2014. Despite this alarming trend, Congress has not made gun control a priority, the issue remaining out of the limelight even during the presidential election. During the presidential debate between President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, both barely touched on the issue of gun control, focusing instead on topics such as abortion, the economy, and immigration.
In the vice presidential debate, Democratic Governor Tim Walz did call for gun reform, invoking his son’s own personal experience with a school shooting, while Republican Senator J.D. Vance called for increasing police presence in schools.
Government inattention and inaction on gun control have frustrated most Tech students. In two polls conducted by The Survey, 89.6% of students did not believe gun control was being prioritized enough, and 52.2% said that gun control should be prioritized over other political issues
Architecture major Justin Wang (‘25) agreed with the majority of the poll results. “There has to be some action, and I think it has to be now,” he argued. “There have been too many calls for it, but too little action from lawmakers and too much resistance. We can’t just keep letting students die.”
Criminal Law teacher Mr. Jeffrey Locke has observed that Tech students have not really been impacted by school shootings, noting that he has not seen much of an effect on students beyond classroom discussion. “Obviously, it’s scary and tragic…but I haven’t seen an impact yet,” he said. “I think it’s happened so often we’ve become desensitized.”
For some, this desensitization leads to acceptance. J.D. Vance recently characterized school shootings as a “fact of life.” In step with many of his party, he also announced that the most effective way to protect against them would be to “bolster security at our schools.” Vance has argued for measures such as stronger doors and windows and more school security officers in place of stricter gun regulation to better handle and deter potential school shooters.
Law and Society major Carver Coleman (‘26) disagrees. “Background checks should be implemented, along with the banning of assault rifles,” he said. “There should be a gun registry as well.”
Harris and other Democrats are pushing for even more regulations, such as nationwide red flag laws that enable family members or law enforcement officials to petition courts for an order to bar someone from accessing guns if they are deemed at risk to themselves or others.
During his presidency, Biden has enacted regulations curbing the sales of pistol braces, and in 2021 he signed the first gun safety bill in decades, tightening regulations on gun accessibility and funding state red flag laws.
However, last February, Trump vowed to undo all gun restrictions enacted by Biden. Many Republicans, like Trump, argue that further gun control would be an infringement on Americans’ Second Amendment rights, and regulations such as background checks or gun bans would be ineffective at preventing school shootings.
With Republicans gaining control of the House, the Senate, and the White House, the possibility of gun control reform has diminished. The focus is expected to shift towards policies aimed at increasing school security while protecting Second Amendment rights, leaving Americans across the nation wondering if this approach will be effective, or if they’ll have to witness yet another tragic school shooting.
