After dealing with decades of school shootings, teenagers are fed up and starting to stand up. It’s still hard for me to believe that the first school shooting that I remember hearing about happened my senior year of high school. After that shooting schools took measures to install metal detectors, cameras and fences to try to protect schools. I still to this day remember that after Columbine teachers were ordered to lock the doors to the classrooms during the class session.
Nearly 20 years later, school shootings have continued and our society has become desensitized to the news. At least I thought our society had become desensitized. It turns out I was wrong. Teenagers all over the United States are standing up in protest and walking out of their classrooms. They have had enough. They want to feel safe. And I don’t blame them.
I have 2 children, one in middle school and one in elementary school. I want my kids to feel safe when they go to school. And quite frankly, I would applaud them if they decided to participate in protest.
After every single shooting, we always hear it’s too soon to start talking about common sense gun regulation. It’s too soon to start talking about the mental health crisis. WRONG!! IT’S TOO LATE!! We are continuing to drop the ball every single time this happens. How many innocent lives have to be lost before it’s time to finally start talking about making changes?
Let’s start talking about mandatory background checks, waiting periods and restrictions on what guns are legal to purchase. The American people aren’t politicizing this topic, the NRA is by giving millions to legislators to keep common sense laws from passing.
Let’s start talking about the lack of funding for trained counselors in our schools. We need more counselors in our schools who can identify troubled kids BEFORE things get out of hand. We need to have unique ways to treat these children rather than stigmatize mental illness and abusive households.
Let’s do something about this epidemic. If we don’t do something now it will be too late again when inevitably the next school shooting happens.
