Amidst the rise of school shootings and threats to schools across the nation, students are becoming anxious and even paranoid regarding their safety at school.

As an editorial staff, we do not believe we are safe in school if there is no change to the current gun laws, which make it possible for almost anyone to purchase a firearm.

An 18 year old is not allowed to purchase alcohol because they are see as not mature enough to make potentially life-altering decisions. On the other hand, an 18 year old is also able to purchase a gun and have the ability to shoot up a school.

The age restrictions put into place in regards to gun control aren’t the only factor that puts students in danger. At Daniel Pearl Magnet High School, the campus is so small that the school budget does not allow for a full time security guard, whereas our neighboring school Birmingham Community Charter High School does have one.

After the Feb. 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were shot and killed by a former student, students here have been told by their teachers that there will be a drill in which they learn what to do in a school shooting. It has been nearly a month since the traumatizing Florida event, and this proposed emergency drill has yet to take place.

This national crisis has begun to deteriorate the beauty of an education and what it offers to the lives of millions of kids around the country. An environment once filled with hopeful aspirations has now been replaced with feelings of anxiety and paranoia.

The United States government can no longer sit by and do nothing while children in schools across the country continue to die. It is time to change the dangerous course this country is taking.