When someone mentions a school shooting, an image of terrified panic-stricken students hiding under desks, in janitorial closets, or behind the walls and desperately hoping not to be seen by the shooter comes to mind. The United States of America observes a growing statistic of innocent children losing their right to live due to gun-related violence. Furthermore, traumatic memories pursue those who survived such an experience for a long time. About 2,900 American children get killed, nearly 15,600 get injured, and a total of 3 million are exposed to school shootings every year. The numbers indicate that national resources are significantly affected by the consequences of gun violence.
Given the above, a wise decision should be made on an effective method to prevent our children from becoming statistics in a country that has been plagued by mass shootings. It is unacceptable that armed perpetrators prevent the next generation from a happy future. At the same time, I by no means intend to rob Americans of their right to bear arms proclaimed by our founding fathers. On the contrary, I suggest that the government extends this right to all citizens, including K-12 students. It is not weapons that kill but people; hence, the current gun control policy is completely illogical.
Therefore, I humbly offer my reasoning for equipping our children with guns for public consideration.
Firstly, if a shooter appeared at school, everyone would retrieve their gun and defend themselves from the attack. Instead of waiting to be rescued, students and teachers can take control of the situation and prevent damage to the people and property.
Secondly, the staff and armed schoolchildren would outnumber the lawbreaker. My solution suggests that weapons are provided in abundance, like school books. Bigger arms, such as AK-47 rifles should be given to high schoolers, and handguns should be presented to primary and middle school students, along with bullets.
Thirdly, the new policy would scare off the potential shooters who might not risk attacking a school knowing that any child can shoot him dead in self-defense.
Fourthly, autonomy would reduce the burden on the police and judiciary since there would be no need to intervene and investigate the case once the offender is stopped.
Fifthly, allowing students to carry weapons would teach them responsibility. Upon reaching school age, children can be trained well and become skilled shooters. A shooting range should be available for students to practice.
Sixthly, equipping our children with guns would reaffirm the United States’ position as the world’s leader.
All things considered, I believe that no objections to my modest proposal should be raised. I acknowledge the arguments that the opposition can have regarding my plan. However, I do not wish to accept them as an alternative since they will never solve the problem. Limiting high-capacity magazines, funding gun violence research, installing metal detectors in all schools, checking individuals’ backgrounds, and other proposals are ineffective and not worth considering unless the government actually puts them into practice.
To conclude, I must say that my modest proposal aims to benefit the country and the children of America. I have no personal interest in implementing my plan since I do not have children to protect. Nor do I own any gun companies; hence, I do not directly benefit from my proposal financially. My sincerest concerns are to serve the nation and the public interest.
When writing my essay, I followed the suggested plan to better structure my thoughts and ideas. First, I read Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and paid attention to the author’s tone and satirical techniques. Then, I decided on the problem to investigate and discuss and brainstormed the ideas that seemed ridiculous as legal reasons for my suggestion but at the same time were technically logical and justified. After that, I outlined the essay following Swift’s structure and proceeded to write and edit.