Gun laws, rights, and regulation have caused controversy in the United States for many years. In the recent 2016 presidential election, gun laws were highly discussed between the two major political parties.

Conservatives generally agree that too many regulations over your right to bear arms is unconstitutional. Liberal views argue that the main purpose of the Second Amendment in the Constitution is so that if a need arises, states can form a militia. Therefore, they don’t see this Amendment as necessary in today’s world.

North students are just as divided as our country on the issue.

North junior John Bull, a camo baseball cap-wearing country conservative, strongly feels that having a gun is a form of personal expression.

“If you want to have a gun, you can have it,” North junior John Bull said. “It’s your right to have it.”

However, many other students think that gun regulations are an absolute must, and feel equally as strong about this issue.  

“I think that guns are things that people need to be more careful with,” Thalia Halloran, also a  junior at North, said. “And [they] need to be regulated more, but I’m not all in favor of banning all the guns.”

Halloran believes that some of these regulations should include being required to keep your guns locked in a safe, and she also believes assault rifles should be banned. Halloran believes that people interested in acquiring a gun must go through gun safety courses and undergo background checks.

While protecting yourself is important, many people argue that guns aren’t always used for those reasons. Halloran realizes that people use them for protection and hunting, but the concern of powerful guns getting into the wrong hands distresses her, and she is not alone.

Some people argue that by putting more regulations on weapons, people who want to use them for recreational and protective reasons are being unfairly punished. Others claim that because of the increase of mass shootings, guns need to be more strictly regulated.

Although it seems that both sides are dead set in their beliefs concerning gun control, it is important to keep talking about how we handle firearms, and we hope one day to find a way guns can be safely enjoyed.