The Columbine Massacre

On April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado, two underage teenage boys came into Columbine High School, a gun-free zone, with lethal weapons. Gun-Free zones are areas where the use or the possession of firearms is considered a crime (Gun Free Zone Law & Legal Definition 2014). One might believe keeping the schools as gun-free zones would be safer for the students and faculty, but it does not. Why would any educational institution believe this? The committee members believe this because they have place security cameras inside and outside the buildings, have security guards to keep an eye on what is taking place, and have metal detectors to make sure that someone does not have weapons before entering the building. As Eric Harris 17 and Dylan Klebold 18 walked among the halls of Columbine High School, they shot twelve students and one teacher, and twenty-three were wounded. The Columbine Massacre could have been prevented if the school was not a gun-free zone, but if the school was not a gun-free zone students and faculty would be able carry weapons in the open, which would make the students, feel uncomfortable to learn in a treacherous environment. The Columbine Massacre started a debate about the freedom to own guns.

On December 15, 1791, the Second Amendment of the Bill of Right declared, “a well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state the right of people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” (Jacobs 93). In other words, citizens of the United States have the right to own guns. This right was once freely exercised. When supermarkets were not present, the citizens would use weapons to hunt for food. During the colonial times, children were exposed to weaponry more than the children today,...

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...eapons at the end of the day when the students have left so that there is not a problem with the teachers using the weapons outside of the school. When permitting a teacher to use a weapon, they should go through a background check, juvenile criminal record check, and have them psychologically checked so they do not plan to harm themselves in the process of trying to save the students.

In conclusion, the Columbine Massacre was a preventable act if people had paid attention to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s behavior. The people outside of the school such as Robyn Andersons and Mark Manes should have asked why did they need the guns, maybe informed Dylan’s parents, had done some proper research before she had handed over the handguns to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. If the faculty at Columbine High School were allowed to carry a concealed weapon many lives w