On March 23, in Boulder, Colorado, a shooting took place in a grocery store that resulted in ten people dead. According to CBS News, the shooter, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, is now being charged on 10 counts of first-degree murder. Because of this, and the ongoing gun violence the nation suffers, President Biden called on Congress to enact stricter gun laws and the ban on assault weapons.

West Liberty University students shared their opinions on gun laws and Biden’s goal to minimize gun violence. Haley Blakemore, a sophomore at WLU, says, “The number of school shootings is unbearable. [Biden’s] restrictions should decrease the rate of school shootings.” Blakemore went on to say, “Assault weapons, AK’s especially, are not essential and more dangerous. Therefore, restrictions make sense.” She concluded her thoughts by saying, “With such a division in this country, a complete ban on assault weapons will probably never happen, so restrictions are a good move on Biden’s part.”

Luke Beall, a senior at WLU, says, “I’m more in favor of gun regulation than gun control personally.” Beall went on to say, “It’s way too easy to get guns in many states, and more strict registration, background checking, training, psychological testing, and waiting periods could help this.”

Trevor Rosenthal, a WLU student, says, “I’m not opposed to more regulation. However, rifle bands don’t seem to make much sense, in my opinion, since most gun violence is by handguns.” John Nash, a student at West Virginia University, says, “They say this will make it harder for criminals to get a hold of illegal weapons, but in reality, it just puts a beating on the regular people trying to protect themselves from the criminals with illegal weapons.”

Morgan Kafana, a freshman at WLU, says, “I think that there should be more strict gun laws and control.” She continues, “Weapons such as assault weapons aren’t necessary for hunting, only military purposes.” Kate Roberts, a freshman at WLU, says, “I believe there should definitely be stricter gun control. There is no reason why people need adult weapons in their homes or on their person.” Roberts went on to say, “I also believe that psychological testing should be done, so there aren’t so many shootings.”

After listening to college student’s opinions, it is clear that there is still much more to be discussed. With the number of shootings that keep happening, it’s hard to say that gun regulation is fine where it’s at. It is clear that many students feel strongly about the matter on both sides of the discussion, but a common factor in everyone’s answers was that mass shootings shouldn’t be happening at the rate they are.

Should gun regulation continue to strengthen? Should psychological tests and gun training be required for those who want to own guns? Should assault weapons be banned? There are some burning questions that need answers. What do you think Hilltoppers?