In the politically charged atmosphere we have cultivated in the United States, there's barely any time to mourn. The time to mourn was yesterday--or years ago, when students were killed at Columbine, or Virginia Tech.
I've spent another week trying to process. Disbelief. Sadness. I've been watching as my roommate, studying to become a teacher, looks at the articles, videos, and town halls and tears up thinking about how her ideal profession has become more and more dangerous. I've read articles and seen tweets and thought about how different school would be if teachers were armed, or if schools were heavily guarded. I've cried and signed petitions and accepted an invitation to a March for Our Lives.
We all have a right to a basic education here in the United States, but we also all have a right to bear arms. In the last week we have been reminded that one of those rights seems to take precedence over the other. Accusations are being thrown across the country--that children don't have the knowledge or experience to be speaking in a situation like this. Conversely, that adults don't care and don't know how to do their jobs. Protecting people with guns seems to be more important than listening to the people who have had an active shooter in their school.
Then there are the numbers--showing that other nations with stricter gun control have fewer shootings like this, and the ones that show how much money different politicians receive from the National Rifle Association and various gun-supporting organizations. The problem is a complex one, yes--and I'm sure there's more to it than I understand. But I also know that we can do more. We can do more as a country to protect our children and our schools.
Gun control does not mean taking guns away from law-abiding citizens. It means putting restrictions in place like assault weapon bans, restrictions for people convicted of domestic abuse, and general background checks for people buying guns. Making it harder for people to get guns doesn't mean making it impossible. The amount of regulation in place to purchase a car or to get a license should be just as difficult as obtaining a gun. The common argument is that regulation won't do anything, because the people who want guns and people who want to bring a gun into a school will still find a way to get a gun. Just because a killer might be able to get their hands on a weapon if they want one, does that mean we shouldn't make it more difficult for them along the way?
The NRA just wants to keep making money--and will buy politicians just to keep doing that. There has been virtually no movement to writing and passing comprehensive gun control laws--and that is a tragedy. How many more school shootings need to happen before the nation realizes gun control could help prevent these tragedies? Will we have to wait until the children in Parkland, Florida grow up and run for office?
