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chapter one Overview of School Shootings and the Never Again Movement Issues surrounding gun rights and gun control provoke contentious debates in the United States. Gun rights supporters argue that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants individual citizens a funda- mental right to possess guns without government interference. They resist most proposed regulations on firearms, claiming that gun control laws infringe upon the rights of law-abiding gun owners while doing nothing to prevent criminals from gaining access to weapons. Gun control advo- cates, on the other hand, argue that the widespread availability of guns has contributed to an epidemic of gun violence in the United States. They contend that strict new laws are needed to prevent dangerous people from obtaining firearms and to protect innocent lives. The opposing sides in this debate are locked in a perpetual struggle that has prevented major changes to the nation’s gun laws for decades. Mass shootings—and especially school shootings—have intensified public concerns about the prevalence of gun violence in the twenty-first century. These unpredictable, senseless acts have left many Americans feeling vulnerable and afraid for the safety of their families. Yet rising apprehension following mass shootings at schools, concert venues, night- clubs, office buildings, shopping malls, and churches has not prompted reform of federal gun laws. Efforts to pass gun control legislation are con- sistently defeated by staunch opposition from the vocal and well-financed