The message of the walkout, “never again,” is very easy to get behind. No more school shootings. Nobody likes school shootings, so of course everybody believes in, “never again.” Where the message went wrong was with the statements that were made in front of the entire school under the facade of, “never again.”

Statements such as, “all our lives mean nothing if they keep their murder weapons. Never again. Never again. Never again,” “protect kids, not guns,” and “we call bs” were made during the walkout so that every student could hear. Disguised by the entirety of the walkout as the path to, “never again,” these statements truly distort reality and advocate for a particular political position.

The problem is not only that a political position is being presented to students as a solution for the issue of school shootings but also the fact that this position is completely incorrect.

With statements like, “all our lives mean nothing if they keep their murder weapons,” and, “protect kids, not guns,” in front of the entire school for all to hear and believe, one can conclude that the, “never again,” event and thus the school that organized it is advocating for the idea that if we take away guns there will be no more school shootings.

In reality, taking away guns is not the solution. While in certain cases they are murder weapons, so are plenty of baseball bats, cars, and fists. Those aren’t going anywhere. Guns are also weapons for protection against others. According to data analysis from John R. Lott, Jr., in his book “More Guns, Less Crime,” more guns can mean less crime. Also noted by USA Today is how there are 2 million guns in circulation with an 8 million population in Switzerland but less than 120 homicides committed with guns.

The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council explains that there are far more defensive gun uses than criminal uses providing even more reason to keep guns around.