BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Thursday marks one year since tragedy occurred in Parkland, Florida.
A gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Since then, students from the school have advocated for gun reform at the federal level and the shooting prompted a national debate about gun violence in America.
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Niagara Falls City School District is one of the local schools that made improvements to security over the past year in response to the Parkland tragedy. Superintendent Mark Laurrie told WBEN the district hired three more school resource officers, four social workers, and invested in its mental health program.
"It's not a one-size fits all," Laurrie said. "You have to know your community and know your kids. That's the most important thing...From whatever influence I have and whatever opinion I have, I won't let (teachers be armed) at Niagara Falls. I think New York State is much too wise to let that happen."
Florida passed a red flag law as part of a gun-control package in the wake of the shooting and New York State is on the cusp of doing the same. The bill will make it easier to take guns from people who may be suicidal or bent on violence against others. It would allow courts to seize the weapons.
"Parkland would never have happened if Florida had a red flag law," Linda Beigel Schulman, a mother of one of the Parkland victims, said during a recent news conference with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to sign his state's new law any day.
READ MORE:
March 2018: After Parkland, even idle school threats get tough response
March 2018: How the Parkland teens are pulling off a worldwide movement
August 2018: Parkland students start school year with tightened security
February 2019: Gun-seizure laws grow in popularity since Parkland shooting
Other states which passed similar bills are Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
University at Buffalo Freshman Andrew Kowalczyk, who appeared on WBEN last year as part of our 12 Voices in 12 Hours: School Safety & Gun Violence, advocated for change on the local front while a senior at Clarence High School.
Since the shooting, Kowalczyk said it's too soon to make a determine if the changes made locally and nationally will have any impact because of the infrequency of mass shootings.
"I'm kind of doubtful (but) I think it's a very good first step," Kowalczyk told WBEN. "I think schools should take that. We should invest in mental health. But we have to see if that will actually work."
Kowalczyk said the responsibility falls on government to invest in mental health. Since graduating high school, Kowalczyk volunteered in local politics and most recently supported Nate McMurray in his congressional run. Now, he's a member of the University at Buffalo Democrats and said the group contributes to the conversation.
"To keep that conversation going is very difficult but it will come back up again and we will be having the same conversation," he said.