I opened my phone to see another Instagram story, “Mass Shooting at Tennessee School,” reposted from some newspaper. That is how I usually find out; not a big front-page article, not a breaking news headline, a casual repost. I thought to myself, “That is so messed up,” and then proceeded to scroll past pictures of possible college roommates and my friend’s spring break photos. The next day I went to school just like nothing had changed.
Seeing how numb I have become to this reality is terrible because I have been far from passive regarding this topic. Last year when elementary children were killed in Uvalde, I organized a rally with a group of my friends and raised money for the Sandy Hook Promise. At that time, I felt like I was doing something, taking action, but almost a year later, nothing changed. In fact, it has just gotten worse.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death among young people in the United States. When car accidents became a leading cause of death for teens, the public’s reaction was to create organizations in every school to teach kids about the adverse effects of drunk driving. New laws and regulations were set to prevent more kids from needlessly dying. In 49 states, driving without a seat belt is now illegal. In every state, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content of over .08%. So why can we not reach the same consensus regarding gun violence? I mean, they had in the past.
In 1994, a 10-year ban on (some) assault rifles and large magazines was implemented. After the ban expired, mass shootings skyrocketed, and the number of AR-15s manufactured has also increased by a large margin. Do you want to know what government officials argued about in the days following the shooting in Tennessee? They discussed which books should be allowed in classrooms and which should be banned. I thought banning books only happened in the dystopian fiction we read in my English class. I heard one House of Representatives member say something I couldn’t get out of my head, “Dead kids can’t read.” Who cares if Huck Finn is allowed in classrooms or not when kids are dying in elementary school before they even have a chance to make it to high school?
I think it is pretty obvious how I feel about this topic, and for the most part, I try to understand the other side. Still, at this point, I have seen not a single proposition from those who do not support assault rifle bans that will actually help to reduce mass shootings. As a student, seeing those in power consistently do nothing to help us in the name of politics is incredibly defeating. I wouldn’t say I am scared to go to school, but it is definitely in the back of my head. Whenever we have a lockdown drill, I wonder, “Could this time it be the real thing?” The inaction in politics has made me lose faith in the government and other everyday people. Of all things, working to stop the slaughter of our children feels like something we should agree on.
My school has an exchange program where juniors can spend a year in a different country. Some students have wanted to go on exchange because they would feel safer attending school while on exchange. Imagine feeling safer going to school in a country where you don’t know anyone, don’t speak the language, and are thousands of miles away from home. I am going to college next year, and I wish I could say that makes me feel safer, but mass shootings happen at universities too. Not to mention I am leaving my sister and friends behind, not that my presence protects them, but at least we were all together.
I am still holding out hope for the future and my generation’s determination to make lasting changes that will hopefully make schools safer for our children. For now, we have to live in a world where we see weekly Instagram posts about mass shootings are the norm.