I’m pretty sure everyone has heard about the tragic shooting in Florida, where 17 people were shot to death and many more were injured. Well, a lot of students around the U.S, including our school, came together to protest for more gun control. Because of these protests, a lot of people have been saying that high schoolers should be allowed to vote, specifically those who are 16 years and older. I’m going to tell you why that is a bad idea.

The first reason why I personally don’t think it is a good idea is because 16 year olds aren’t always educated on government. I’m not trying to call 16 year olds stupid, but teenagers around the USA only start to learn about our government in junior or senior year. Generally, that is around the age of most 17-18 year old kids and few 16 year olds. How can we ask for 16 year olds to vote, when they don’t even know how our government works and the history behind it?

Another reason I disagree is due to the maturity level of teenagers. The decision making part of the brain in teenagers isn’t fully developed until they turn 25. So, how can we make such major decisions when that part of our brain isn’t even fully developed? Everyone knows how immature kids our age are, and I don’t think it’s very wise to let us make such a big decision that could impact our future. Also, people from the ages of 18 to 25 have the lowest voter turnout rate.

However, even though I don’t agree that people our age should vote, I do think that it’s a good thing for us to get into and participate in political issues. We are the future, and we have the power to make our country better. The way to do that is fight for what we believe in, and everyone should express their feelings about what direction our country should be headed.