Opinion: Our Country Exudes Pure Apathy for School Shootings

By Sam Zaslow-Braverman ‘23
    Since 2010, there have been well over 1,000 separate school shootings in the United States.     In nearly all of these cases, the perpetrator had been able to procure a weapon with shocking ease.

One of the most recent massacres, which took place at Oxford High School and left four dead, continues to demonstrate the profound need for gun legislation. However, if history repeats itself (as it often does), this need will continue unfulfilled, for a very long time.
There are several reasons any necessary legislation or action will not be accomplished, the first of which is the Supreme Court. As ABC News phrased it, "judges shall remain in their position so long as they follow 'good behavior,'" meaning that most justices spend the rest of their lives in the position.
Good behavior almost definitely means civility toward fellow justices, seeing as every living justice who is adamantly pro-gun is incumbent. These justices, staying in their same position for decades on end, keep this good behavior by supporting the same opinions as their fellow judges; this includes not passing gun legislation. 
Our children are dying in schools, those hallowed buildings of learning designed to keep them safe. To let such atrocities occur without intervention is not "good behavior." In fact, it is evidence of complete carelessness and moral atrophy.
The Judicial System is not the only party at fault, however. Presidents nominate justices to serve in the Court, and these justices are often chosen for their partisan alignment, rather than for objectivity, the most important quality of any judge.
It is also important to note that the power of the Executive Order can be wielded by any President. It allows for the leader to draft and pass a law without the intervention of the courts. If President Biden wanted to, he could pass such an order on gun control.
But little more than the influence of the National Rifle Association  prevents Biden from making sure a school shooting never happens in this country again, without any danger of partisan influence from Congress. According to The Guardian, Biden reappointed the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a federal organization that regulates the distribution of such products, after the NRA persuaded him to.
The responsibility for dealing with school shootings also lies on individuals who are pro-gun. The Harvard Crimson claims, rightfully so, that to be pro-gun is to be pro-violence. Since anyone with a gun has the power to take lives, the support of unrestricted access to guns translates to complacency in response to the taking of lives. This is pro-violence.
We have seen pro-violence practices rear their ugly heads many times in this country over the past five years, from the tipping of Joe Biden's campaign bus to the blatant domestic terrorist attack that occurred at the Capitol Building nearly one year ago. 
These acts were committed mostly by individuals that align with the pro-gun movement, and until opposing legislature is passed and the long road to a peaceful future begins, they will commit even more violent acts in support of issues such as unrestricted access to firearms, paying homage to a philosophy that has no grounding in reality.
Yet there is still plenty of hope. The road to a peaceful future, devoid of violent incidents such as the one at Oxford High School, is a very long way off. It will be years, perhaps even decades, before this problem is fixed.
It is up to us to vote wisely for Presidents. Legislators at large will do almost nothing to ensure this future. When the right President is chosen, they will rally their constituents, and appoint morally-strong Justices when able.
Only then will we be able pave the way to a beautiful future, one unsullied by the greed of pro-gun lobbyists, far-right politicians and radicalized gun owners. Only then will children be able to return to schools truly safe.