In May in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, two students at STEM High School, committed a school shooting, accounting for the death of 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo and the wounding of eight others. The two perpetrators, 18-year-old Devon Erickson and 16-year-old Alec McKinney, both attended the K-12 school and now face murder and attempted murder charges.

Unfortunately, stories and headlines like this aren’t uncommon. In 2019, there have been at least eight school shootings resulting in the deaths of at least four children.

The Highlands shooting rocked the residents of Colorado, especially because of its five-mile proximity to Columbine High School, where one of America’s most notorious school shootings took place.

The 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people launched a nationwide debate on gun control. Following the tragedy, Florida and several other states passed stricter gun control laws; however, the federal government has yet to make any big changes regarding firearm policies.

Thousands of American students, like us, long for a change. We wonder why people’s guns, despite any Second Amendment argument, mean more to them than the children dying at the hands of them.

As a solution, President Trump has suggested multiple times that we arm teachers. To some it’s a good solution. However, proponents of this argument fail to understand that adding more guns into a school environment could lead to more catastrophic events.

In a perfect world, guns would have no place in a school environment. But we don’t live in a perfect world, and every school shooting sparks the question, how many children need to die? How many children will die before there is a change?

Clearly, this question is not a priority in our country. In a Small Arms survey reported by BBC, the U.S. proves to be the top civilian gun-owning country in the world. Since 1982, over 90 mass shootings have occurred.

These tragedies happen over and over again, and over and over again no substantial action is taken.

It is tragic to think that kids lose their lives to something that can be prevented. Change needs to happen before it’s too late for you.