America stood in shock as news spread of the mass shooting at a country festival in Las Vegas Oct. 1.

Like the rest of the country Rio students were shocked and outraged by the murder of 58 people by a single gunman with several modified automatic rifles. But like other Americans, students were split on the need for gun control following the tragedy.

Some students came to the realisation that they believe gun laws should be more strict.

According to a survey conducted by LA Times after the mass shooting, 61 percent of Americans believe the gun laws should be stricter, whereas 11 percent believe they should be less strict, and 27 percent don’t mind the law staying the way it is.

Sophomore Gavin Walters believes that the law should be stricter. “I think guns should be illegal,” said Walters, “No one can seem to manage to use them right.”

Most students agree with his thoughts.

“I think we need to make guns more strict. Everyone who wants to own a gun should be required to take a class and get a license to own one,” said freshman Maddie Reboin.

In California, the law states that anyone with a firearm certificate may own a handgun. In order to receive the certificate, it’s required that a person take a class on gun safety.

Louisiana’s gun laws are less strict. As long as the person owning the age is 17 or older, they are allowed to own a gun. This makes it easier for people to get ahold of a gun.

“Even if the laws got more strict, it probably wouldn’t matter because it’s easy to get illegal guns,” said Reboin.
The people who do want stricter laws fear for the future of America. They just want a safer country.

Other students believes that the gun laws should stay the same. Their belief is that besides this incident, the gun laws are already strict enough to provide us with a safe country.

should have a clearer background track to see if they are mentally stable, or safe enough to own a gun.

Upsetting events such as the Las Vegas shooting makes students question; if gun laws were more strict, would it prevent mass shootings?

“Absolutely, many shootings happen because people get guns way too easily, and they aren’t properly trained to handle them,” said Walters.

Since the shooting, many debates have occurred against guns. Many states have considered stricter laws in order to prevent massacre in the future.

The attack may have left a mark in students’ hearts, but it does make them hopeful for a safer country in the future.