It was plastered all over my social media timelines this weekend, and the most talked about tagline that I could find for any newspaper. In fact, on the train this morning, the guy in front of me unfolded the Boston Globe Sunday Edition, and there it was staring me in the face, the front-page headline spewing news of this weekend’s demonstration on the capitol. I guess it was very fitting that I watched the Hunger Games series this weekend.

First off, I am so proud to live in a country where we can peaceably assemble. This weekend’s demonstration was a fantastic payment of homage to our country’s founding, reminiscent of how we freed ourselves from the British control. I am however, disappointed in how people acted at this demonstration. The posters, the anger, and the continued hostility I saw in the still images from newspapers absolutely appalled me. I completely understand the seriousness that guns carry, and what harm they are capable of. Although the notion that guns kill is false, people kill people, and guns are a tool. People that divest in this notion are the same people that believe spoons give you diabetes and that pencils are capable of misspelling words.

I support what anyone wants to believe, whether they support the second amendment or not, they are still under the umbrella of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights as a legal citizen of this country. Despite the tabloids and headlines; supporting the second amendment is not synonymous with supporting the senseless killing of innocent children. This is equitable to women getting abortions; that does not mean that they support the killing of innocent children. With that in mind, why is one acceptable, and the other is not? There are also multiple reasons for people to buy guns. For example, some people live in areas that are distant from grocery stores and markets, so they use guns to hunt animals. Some people like going to the range and sharpening their shooting skills which is a perfectly healthy and good hobby, so why shouldn’t they have access to a gun, if they have the legal right to?

Secondly, why don’t we approach the schools about concerns? If students are so concerned about their safety, and wanting to “…graduate school in a cap and gown, not leave school in a body bag,” then why don’t they approach their schools? Approach the administration, and petition for heightened school security measures. If the school takes proper precautions, strangers with weapons would not be able to enter the school in the first place and would be turned away from entry. Crimes can be prevented, and lives can be saved. Why does this issue have to be brought to the amendment level? This whole demonstration was operating on the foundation that guns are bad, and schools are now unsafe. Maybe allowing guns on campus would allow for students, faculty, and administration to be educated on the safe usage of weapons, and lead students by example.

Thirdly, why would anyone fight to remove a right that they have? As Americans, it is a right to bear arms. It is not a privilege, it is a right. Adolf Hitler said, “To conquer a nation, you must disarm its citizens,”. How alarming is that remark? And how relevant is this notion to this weekend’s protest? A student from MSD even raised his hand in salute at the demonstration and is fighting to disarm this nation. There also was a display of shoes on the country’s capital memorializing the students’ lives’ who were cut short due to gun violence, similarly done with the shoes of those who were killed during the persecution of Jewish people during the Holocaust. This demonstration was an awful forgetfulness of history, and that is damning our nation from its core. George Santayana once said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We need to move forward as a nation and improve upon the past, instead of circling back to it. We need to teach more history, so that students understand more clearly what has happened, and the consequences of our actions, no matter how small.