The passage of a little more than a week has not lessened the intensity of renewed national debate over gun violence that gained momentum after the killings of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Some students at the school have gained worldwide attention for their continuing forcefulness in demanding change, including better treatment for mental illness and new laws to tighten availability of guns, especially semiautomatic, military-style weaponry.

President Donald Trump’s White House says he is now in “listening mode” on the issue, and lawmakers have scrambled to listen, if not promise to act. Some are trying to find a survivable path between gun rights and demands for more gun control. Others, as of now, fall firmly in one camp or another.

An NRA spokeswoman has gone on record in saying that people like the accused Parkland killer should not have had access to guns if they were mentally ill.

The debate shows no sign of ending. On this page today, we present several viewpoints on this issue.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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