Callie Weems, Shirley Kay Taylor, Roy Sturgis and Ellen Shrum. Say their names. June 21, 2024, attendees of a news conference in Fordyce, Arkansas, were the victims of a shooting incident. This conflict left four dead and nine injured, including two officers.
According to Everytown, a gun violence prevention organization, Arkansas ranks eighth highest in gun deaths across the U.S. with an average of 631 people dying by guns every year. This becomes more feasible when considering the state has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and adolescents’ leading cause of death is at the hands of gun violence.
“When we talk about trauma, fear, or stress, it’s no longer abstract,” said Carla Jurgensmeyer, psychology teacher, “When I worked in Little Rock, we had several lockdowns due to potential gun threats and it was really scary. I never thought I’d need to text my family from work to tell them that I loved them because I wasn’t sure if I would make it home safely.”
Arkansas is classified as a constitutional carry state, meaning anyone 18 or older is legally allowed to carry a firearm and may purchase one without a permit or license. The only exceptions to this law are convicted felons or individuals who were deemed mentally unstable in a felony case.
“This country has used public education, safety education, improved enforcement of traffic laws, better highway design, improved use of and design of safety systems in vehicles to reduce the annual death toll on our roads,” said Paul Kemp, co-founder Gun Owners for Responsible Ownership, school board direction in Portland Oregon and gun owner. “The high rates of gun violence death, injury and deaths in our country are of our own doing, we don’t have to live like this.”
Although in the Constitution, the Second Amendment states: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed,” this amendment has crossed a line with automatic assault weapons being sold to the general public. Furthermore, the absence of household firearm limits is extremely unsafe.
“I agree with the Second Amendment’s intention to protect the right to bear arms, but I believe it should be balanced with responsible laws to ensure public safety,” said Ahlana Sengthavorn, 12.
Arkansas needs stricter gun laws to keep citizens and their families protected. Action is required in political spaces to show politicians what citizens need to feel secure.
“When you hear about it happening at other schools, you wonder,” said John Raybourn, history teacher, “is it going to be our turn next?”
