English Composition-Personal Experience Speech-ECOMP 324

“Call for Gun Control in Schools”

Hello everyone,

My name is Minghao Xu and I am one of those concerned with the recent mass shooting in schools and yet the government through educators and scholars promised to protect students under all means. Lack of safety and the spread of gun violence in some of our institutions is another painful reminder that the government has failed to come up with immediate action including gun control in schools.

In the article “Coalition of National Researchers Release Violence Prevention Plan,” the author takes us back to the shootings at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School and after government’s The Interdisciplinary Group on Preventing School and Community Violence developed a “Call for Action to Prevent Gun Violence in the United States of America,” there is still cases of gun violence in schools.

Today I want to remind you that prevention is more than introducing security measures in schools. We need to have direct and sustained gun control legislation in support of school policies and practices that prevent violence. If the government accept to fund community-based intervention centers and programs, this can help both educators and parents in the decision-making process that aims to improve safety in schools. 

The big question is, why do you think school shootings have become widespread in the United States than other countries? According to the article “Community-Based Strategies To Reduce Gun Violence,” Pearce and Alleyne mentioned Des Moines, Iowa, Nashville, and Tennessee as the communities that have experienced a school shooting recently.

These cases of shootings are due to lack of direct and sustained gun control legislation. Even if the government allows the licensing of guns, the same laws should also ban and keep guns away from children and dangerous individuals. Parents should also be part of this intervention and this is supported in the recent article titled “To reduce school shootings, keep guns out of kid’s hands,” where Rosenbaum argues that parents must limit access to guns in homes. Gun owners especially parents must also practice safe firearms storage.

Now it is your turn as a community to partner with the government, stakeholders, and other agencies in reducing violence in schools. Since the community cannot work alone, the government should fund programs such as Community Violence Intervention (CVI) so that they sustainably and equitably promote school safety.

The good news is, if we utilize gun control, violence prevention practices and the government help in funding community-based intervention programs, we can win the fight against mass- shooting in schools.

We can achieve it if we do it with all our mind, effort and courage

Thank you.

References

“Call for Action to Prevent Gun Violence in the United States of America.” University of Virginia – School of Education and Human Development, education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/research-centers-labs/research-labs/youth-violence-project/call-action-prevent-gun-violence-united-states-america. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.

Pearce. A & Alleyne A. “Community-Based Strategies to Reduce Gun Violence in Schools.” Center for American Progress, 15 Sept. 2023, www.americanprogress.org/article/community-based-strategies-to-reduce-gun-violence-in-schools/.

Rosenbaum, Michael. “To Reduce School Shootings, Keep Guns out of Kids’ Hands.” Harvard Public Health Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024, harvardpublichealth.org/policy-practice/the-role-of-child-gun-safety-laws-in-curbing-school-shootings/.

“The Government Should Not Legalize Cannabis“

Thank you, everyone and today I am honored to talk about something sensitive that affects all of us in our society.

Most of us have heard about Marijuana, a popular drug that is also referred to as Cannabis. Why am I saying it’s a popular drug? There have been debates through the media and online platforms with people seeking answers either to legalize recreational marijuana or medicinal marijuana.

Today I plan to spend a few minutes to make you make you understand why the government should not legalize cannabis. Legalizing cannabis is very dangerous and coming up with such terms, the “Recreational marijuana” and “Medicinal marijuana” is making many people especially the young view cannabis as a less risky drug compared to alcohol and cigarettes. In support of the article “Marijuana Legalization: Educating Risks and Costs,” this drug leads to more public health consequences including addiction that keeps affecting the vulnerable young people in society. That is why I believe we should not legalize it and urge the government to see the drug too risky to let the public use it.

Legalizing cannabis is dangerous because scientists have proved that the drug can affect human brain development from adolescence stage and well beyond. Taking marijuana can harm your thinking, learning, and even memory development. The drug comes with other mental health issues, physical health problems, and behavioral disorders.

The big challenge remains with some institutions and media who try to propagate misinformation that cannabis is medicinal and thus it should be legalized. It is paramount to educate the public so that they understand how this drug is a “medicine.” Most of us lack the right information and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health has recorded how users of cannabis keep increasing day in day out. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opposes when we connect the drug with the “medicine purpose because it is yet to be proven.

According to Lindsay Smith Rogers, he argued in his article titled “The Evidence—and Lack Thereof—About Cannabis,” that the idea of making people think cannabis is medicinal was to pave way for legalizing it as a recreational drug. The author wants us to see the drug as an addictive substance that causes mental health consequences such as psychosis and schizophrenia. 

In the article “Marijuana legalization and mental health: Some benefit, others are hurt” the authors argue that the moment the government comes up with laws to legalize marijuana, legislators should also think of the economic cost in health care. This means that the public health consequences the results from this drug is unbearable.

Am I not taking this issue as a partisan debate like how some politicians take it during campaigns, but as a human who cares for the future generation. We need not to support the idea of legalization of cannabis and let the government see my point. Legislators also have the role to regulate, control and tax cannabis and that is what Charles “Cully” Stimson made me believe in his article “Why We Shouldn’t Legalize Marijuana.

Remember, a healthy nation leads to a healthy future generation

Sources:

Borbely, Daniel, et al. “Marijuana Legalisation and Mental Health: Some Benefit, Others Are Hurt.” CEPR, 11 Jan. 2023, cepr.org/voxeu/columns/marijuana-legalisation-and-mental-health-some-benefit-others-are-hurt.

“Marijuana Legalization: Risks and Costs: Hazelden Betty Ford.” Marijuana Legalization: Risks and Costs | Hazelden Betty Ford, www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery-advocacy/marijuana-legalization. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

“Risks and Benefits of Legalized Cannabis.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/risks-and-benefits-of-legalized-cannabis. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

Stimson, Charles. “Why We Shouldn’t Legalize Marijuana.” The Heritage Foundation, www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/commentary/why-we-shouldnt-legalize-marijuana. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.