The new semester has begun. Students are returning to school re-energized for a new semester full of adventures and education. However, there is something else more sinister that we must now also consider: the constant threat of gun violence.

It seems that nowhere in this country is safe. To be a student means getting gunned down tomorrow is an actual possibility. This might sound dramatic, but I can assure you that it is a real fear many students have. 

It feels like every day I wake up and see that another gunman has entered a high school or college with the intent to kill as many people as possible. In spite of these tragedies, this past week I noticed that a pro-gun rally is happening in Richmond, Virginia on Monday.

This all started because Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency last week and issued a ban on firearms or other weapons on Capitol grounds. These people marching are so angry about potential limitations on their guns that they are showing up as armed militias.

No one is taking away their weapons. They are simply banning them from a highly vulnerable area to try and prevent a shooting. Gun control laws will not take away guns nor abolish the Second Amendment. This legislation is simply trying to prevent the loss of life. 

As a student who knows I am at constant risk of these shootings, it is so odd to see a group of people so much more concerned with the weapon then the lives of students.

It feels as though they value these guns more than my own life. It is also baffling as to what they are actually marching and protesting for. No one has taken their guns away and I do not see a future where that happens. 

Most of us who are sick of constant gun violence just want stricter rules and more limited access to harmful weapons. No one should be able to buy a weapon that can kill hundreds of people in a few minutes — at that point, it goes far beyond self-defense.

Are these people marching so unyielding in this form of autonomy that they won’t even allow some stricter background checks? Are they not worried that the next headline will include their child’s school or their spouse’s workplace?

Why are we as a nation not doing anything to try and fix this obvious issue? It should be clear that something structurally needs to change. No other comparable countries are dealing with this level of gun violence.

After every shooting and murder of innocent people, the nation merely goes through the motions. We preach about gun control and finding ways to fix this issue, but then it becomes old news and we move on. 

Look what has happened as a result. We have given armed militias the room to assert their will. It is time we stop debating with those who refuse to consider the safety of our country. 

I want to return this semester feeling safer than I did in the last one. I want my sister to go to high school with the guarantee that my parents will see her again. 

If this country cannot do something as simple as that, then what are we doing?