The sound of ambulance sirens rang in my ears as I entered the emergency room. As I was rushed through the double door entrance of the hospital on a gurney, I watched a multitude of doctors’ feet hustling around in organized chaos, providing their assistance to the other forty or so patients who needed medical attention. Immediately the triage doctor examined a deep gash across my forehead and lacerations on my legs and shuttled me off to be treated. As the FBI questioned me about the shooter’s physical characteristics, I noticed one of my friends being rushed past me on a gurney. Clutching her lower left leg, she screamed in agonizing pain; her wounds were still fresh and bloody. I shook my head and refocused—for a split second it had all seemed so real; however, I was just a participant in a disaster drill. One particular drill inspired me the most—the year the “disaster” was a mass shooting. What no one knew at the time was that two months later one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history would occur less than a mile away from this exact hospital.

On Sunday, June 12^th, 2016 at approximately 1:58 a.m., the sound of shots from a SIG Sauer MCX rifle rang out from the Pulse nightclub just south of downtown Orlando. The people inside the club initially thought it was just music playing, but they were soon faced with an utterly terrifying reality: they were apart of what would become the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Within minutes, Orange Avenue was flooded with police cars, ambulances, and news reporters. The only sounds were sirens, screaming, and a semi-automatic assault rifle going off every few minutes. Victims inside the club began calling 911, begging for help. They texted their family members, “I’ve been shot and I’m dying … tell everyone I love them.” After a grueling three hours, police became engaged in a shootout and killed the assassin. This tragedy occurred only 1.3 miles from my house, 0.7 miles from my workplace, and 0.3 miles from my high school. With 102 people injured and 49 dead, this was in fact the deadliest mass shooting that had ever occurred in the United States at the time. A community that was full of light and happiness went black. The city of Orlando mourned, as everyone tried to make sense of the unimaginable. Nothing is surreal until you’ve been in that exact moment, seeing before your very eyes the devastation one person with a gun can bring.

Any person living in Orlando can tell you exactly what they were doing the day this tragedy occurred. I had just recently been released from school for summer break and all of my closest friends were enjoying our time at the beach. When we woke up that morning our phones were flooded with news reports and texts from relatives concerned for our safety. As we all scrolled through hundreds of news updates we just stared at one another in disbelief. Some of us cried, while some expressed their outrage, but all of us were scared for our lives. None of us knew what to do. Do we stay at the beach? Do we go home? Is it even safe to go home? Will there be another attack? When we returned home from the beach, we were instantly greeted with an unpleasant welcome. Cops blocked off the entire street of Orange Avenue, yellow caution tape surrounded the building, and the residue of dried-up blood stuck to the street. The feeling that hung over the city was indescribable: Parents mourning the loss of their children, kids mourning the loss of their parents, and husbands and wives mourning the loss of their forever soulmate. In the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, as absolute confusion and devastation flooded my hometown, I was uplifted by the amazing stories told describing the doctors’ and nurses’ tireless dedication to treating and healing the victims. I recalled my own experience where I witnessed that same passion during the disaster drill. Several weeks after the Pulse shooting occurred, we watched a video in our class in which many of the hospital employees thanked us for our participation in the disaster drill because it helped prepare them for this unimaginable disaster.

In our society today, nearly 30,000 people die a year from a gun. Last year, 2018 had the highest number of school shootings recorded. Within the first 21 weeks of 2018, there had been 26 school shootings averaging to more than one per week. The statistics are absolutely sickening. Among these 26 school shootings, one that occurred on February 14^th, forever changed the state of Florida. News about the “Parkland Shooting,” which occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, quickly spread throughout the nation and caused an uproar about gun control. The nineteen-year-old, Nikolas Cruz, walked into his old high school and killed 17 students with a semi-automatic rifle. What nineteen-year-old should have access to a weapon capable of mass destruction? A weapon this powerful and deadly should not be accessible to a person who hasn’t even reached the legal drinking age—to someone who hasn’t even been alive for two decades. Many students who had previously known Cruz commented on his unusual behavior and that something always just seemed off about him. Others noted that they weren’t surprised he would do something of this nature. Cruz should’ve never been able to buy and own a weapon of such caliber, especially considering his questionable mental state. Cruz suffered from brain-development problems and depression. He was admitted into a mental health treatment facility 14 months prior to the shooting. Although, somehow Cruz was “qualified” to purchase an assault rifle due to his clean criminal record checked by the FBI’s criminal database test. Attorneys representing the gun shop Cruz legally bought his gun from claimed “nothing about Cruz raised a red flag, all state and federal laws were followed.” The scary truth of the matter is that the ability for a mentally unstable person to obtain a gun is incredibly easy due to the basic background checks needed to buy one.

Gun control has been a highly debated topic within the United States due to the many mass shootings that are continuously occurring. After the Parkland shooting the citizens of Florida were determined to provoke change and inspire other states to do so as well. Shortly after, the minimum age limit to buy a rifle was raised from 18 years of age to 21 years of age. Police now have the right to seize guns from anyone who is deemed a threat to either themselves or others. $400 million was set aside to amp up school security across the entire state of Florida. Mental health services were implemented and at certain schools, certified staff members are legally allowed to carry a firearm. New laws also banned bump stocks, which allow a gun to mimic a fully automatic fire. Several companies changed their policies in response to Parkland, including Bank of America, who refuses to lend money to companies who manufacture assault-style weapons for non-military purposes. YouTube banned all videos that promote buying guns, and videos that give instructions on how to make guns. A multitude of businesses cut their ties with the National Rifle Association, including airlines such as Delta and United, as well as numerous car rental companies. The immense love and support from the rest of the nation was mind blowing. Sixteen other states tightened gun control laws or passed legislation in favor of improving school safety. New York and Washington, along with several other states, have passed a law that bans people convicted of domestic abuse or stalking from buying or owning a gun.

How do we stop mass shootings from occurring? Are the guns the issue or the person behind the gun? How do we provide better background checks? What qualifies someone as mentally unstable? Who is capable of obtaining a gun and who is not? Should metal detectors be implemented into public places? Will gun control laws ever change at the federal level? How is Congress responding to this push towards stricter gun laws from the citizens? Are other countries facing this issue as well? When did mass shootings become normalized? What exactly is the National Rifle Association (NRA)? Where does their funding come from? How influential is the NRA? What drives a person to commit such an act? Will mass shooting ever end? How much more devastation can we endure?