The Second Amendment states that you have the right to bear arms. However, with the recent increase of gun violence, a question has begun to surface: “Should the Second Amendment be changed?”

In 1791, the constitution incorporated the Second Amendment. According to the Constitution, the Second Amendment states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” 

MCHS students have a variety of opinions about the topic in general. Sophomore Leslie Rangel said, “I don’t really believe in it. I think only trained professionals should be able to have guns but only when they really need to use them.” Rangel thinks that guns should only be used as a last resort. 

Public safety might be challenging in light of individuals carrying weapons. Sophomore Armando Echeverria said, “I’d say guns can affect the safety of the public since you will never know when someone can strike out of anger or sadness or any mental case where they feel the need to take out their feelings on someone else rather than resolve them.” Echeverria feels that guns may be a harm to the public and create a new sense of awareness.

Rangel responded, “I think guns are very dangerous to have in public. No one really wears a bulletproof vest when they walk out of their house as they shouldn’t have to and any fatal accident can happen with a gun.” With guns in public, our safety is threatened and being prepared can be difficult.

Some people might want people want changes on the amendment. Freshman Carolina Perez said, “I think that they should clarify it a bit more because it can be misleading to everyone reading it. Also there should be some more restrictions for people to be eligible  enough to carry any type of weapon.” Perez feels that the amendment should be worded differently and gun control should be stricter.

So far the students interviewed seem to want stricter gun control. But, what do the teachers think?

When Mr. Valenzuela was interviewed he answered, “One of the best things you can have is a good guy with a gun. Number one, in some states, this state is very difficult to get, but they call it conceal and carry, so they are able to hide the gun. Those are the most effective guns to protect people with. If you actually have a gun outside and you have a bad guy coming in, he will shoot the guy with the gun first.” He suggests that guns can be used to make a positive impact, like saving people. If you have someone with a gun who has good intentions they will defend the people in danger from the shooter.  To add, “More people are stabbed to death and murdered with knives than rifles. More people are likely to be bludgeoned to death than with rifles. That’s kind of amazing because of the whole thing revolves around that rifle which is making all the news,” said Valenzuela. This contradicts what most people think on gun related crimes.