Opinion
Skyridge youth begs for a “change in culture” to reduce gun violence
Dear Editor
Just last week, my 14-year-old cousin called his dad from school, his voice shaking. A classmate had threatened his friend, and anyone associated with him, saying he had brought a gun to school and planned to use it. My cousin was terrified. His dad rushed to pick him up immediately, and the school responded with urgency — alerting authorities and taking the situation with extreme seriousness. Thankfully, the threat was dealt with before anyone was hurt. But the fear in that moment was real.
It reminded me that gun violence isn’t something that happens “somewhere else.” It’s here. It’s close to home. My name is Ke’ilani Nawahine, and I’m a 10th grader at Skyridge High School. I believe that if we don’t take the steps necessary to prevent gun violence among our youth, more and more children, teenagers and young adults will live in fear or lose their lives to it.
Parents and guardians, imagine a warm fall day. You’ve just sent your child to school after a fun-filled summer break. Then, out of nowhere, you get a call or an email: the school is in lockdown because of a threat or shooting. In that moment, your heart stops. You can’t change what’s happening, you can only hope your child is safe. Sadly, that fear has become a reality for too many families. School shootings in the U.S. have grown more common over time, with exposure among school-aged children rising from 19 per 100,000 between 1999–2004 to 51 per 100,000 between 2020–2024. According to Nirmita Panchal and Sasha Zitter, “The United States experienced a sharp increase in firearm mortality among youth in recent years, with firearms becoming the leading cause of death for children and adolescents by 2020. Beyond firearm death, there are many more youth who survive gunshot wounds or are otherwise exposed to gun violence, which can lead to negative behavioral health outcomes.”
Let’s be real: youth gun violence is a massive crisis that’s destroying lives and futures. Guns are now the number one cause of death for kids and teens in the U.S. In 2024 alone, over 4,500 young people died. That’s seven kids every single day. It’s terrifying. And for those who survive, the physical and mental scars last forever. This isn’t a made-up scenario; it’s happening in our schools, our neighborhoods, our homes. It shatters families and makes our communities feel unsafe.
We can’t just ignore this — we have to fix it. It’s not just about the people directly affected. When kids grow up constantly worried about getting shot, it changes everything. The anxiety, the depression, the stress, it messes with our mental health big time. It makes it harder to focus in school, hang out with friends, or just live like a normal kid.
When I think about my cousin, I realize how close this crisis came to all of us. No one should have to wonder if today is the day they won’t come home from school. The problem runs even deeper because it often hits Black and Hispanic communities the hardest. That’s not a coincidence; it’s connected to poverty and lack of opportunity in those neighborhoods.
Risk factors like limited job access and fewer youth programs make things worse. To really solve this, we need a public health approach that addresses these root causes. As Julie Collins and Emily Swoveland wrote, “Teachers, principals, and school administrators are actively working with students, reinforcing pro-social behaviors and teaching conflict-resolution skills. Religious figures of all faiths are teaching children and youth about loving themselves, others, and their communities, and about how to be morally centered people.”
These are just a few of the many ways we can move forward to better prevent youth gun violence. To close, we need more than just new laws — we need a change in culture. Stronger background checks, safe storage rules, and “Red Flag” laws are all part of the conversation, but laws alone can’t fix what’s broken inside people. We can’t monitor everyone’s online activity or invade privacy — and we shouldn’t have to. Real safety starts with how we treat each other.
We have to teach kindness, empathy, and respect from a young age — at home, in schools, in our communities. It’s about learning to see each other as human beings, not enemies or stereotypes. When people feel valued, seen, and supported, they’re less likely to turn to anger or violence.
Programs that bring people together, such as mentoring, youth service projects, sports, the arts — these are what build connection and hope. Because in the end, preventing gun violence isn’t just about removing guns, it’s about filling lives with love, purpose, and belonging.
We as young people have the right to feel safe and to grow up without this constant fear. When our communities aren’t safe, it steals our potential and messes with our ability to just live. We deserve better than a reality where a trip to the store or a school day could very well be our last. It’s our future on the line, we need action, compassion, and courage now.
Ke’ilani Nawahine
Lehi, Utah
