Kat Gontijo
By Kat Gontijo | South Kern Sol
Editor’s Note: Kat Gontijo, 17, of Bakersfield High School, gave this speech at the “Gun Safety Rally” held on Feb. 19 on California Ave in Bakersfield. About 100 residents gathered that day to march and rally together to push for more gun control.
Hello, my name is Kat Gontijo, I’m a junior at Bakersfield High School and I’m here today to discuss an issue that is very clear and present, yet is hardly being discussed in Washington: guns. But first, a moment of silence for the 17 victims who lost their lives last week from Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
It breaks my heart to think of these students going back to school without the other 17 who lost their lives horrifically, and to expect them to feel secure and safe on their campus. For these survivors, their initial thought is not to turn to anger against the man who opened fire against them, but rather to turn to change.
After countless interviews, students are going on television to speak about how important gun reform is. In fact, Ryan Deitsch from Parkland organized a trip to Tallahassee to talk about how our loose gun laws have directly affected them. Ryan’s goal was simple: exploit the problem. Because how could something like this happen if a person couldn’t casually buy an AR-15 assault weapon and unlimited amounts of ammo and not even be asked why? The problem is simple: gun control.
Parkland quickly became among the worst school shootings in America’s history, and we now face the harsh reality: every day we step on campus, we do not know if it may be our last. We don’t need our teachers carrying guns to feel safe on campus. We do not need fencing, which makes us feel like we’re in prison. We need security guards on campus stopping people who shouldn’t be on campus from entering. We need a safe learning environment where we won’t spend all of our time thinking, if a gunman enters in the room, how we should react.
For now: let’s keep guns out of the hands of those wretched enough to commit a crime like this and focus on passing stricter gun laws.
I know in America, the right to bear arms is very important, but there comes a point in history when our values and traditions conflict with one another. Our Constitution of the United States of America was written as a means to understand our rights, guaranteed to us by natural law. We are not asking for no guns, we are asking for more thorough background checks and frequent checks on citizens who own guns. Because while the Second Amendment is there to protect our right the bear arms, nowhere does it justify the unlawful slaughter of other people. Limits must be set. Our gun control policy is out of control. We must value our lives higher.
2018 — *more than two dozen school shootings. We will NOT become another statistic. What we need is reform. What we need is change. What we need is policy. What we need is to call BS!