Opinion: No more silence. End gun violence.

What are you doing?

But first, let’s take a moment to honor the sacrifice of our brave school children who lay down their lives to protect our right to bear arms.

To the lives lost in Uvalde, Texas last week, I am sorry. 

I am sorry that you will never vote, drive a car or graduate from high school.

Dear America 

What are you doing?

I cannot imagine the anguish that the families of Uvalde are through. 

In this case, I am not smart enough or in a position to know what to do. But I am educated enough, as are most people, to recognize that we need genuine, unbiased discussion and action on what and how to work toward a solution. Whatever we’ve done has done nothing to alleviate the situation; instead, it’s exacerbated it. For a moment, consider the nation that has been produced by acts of inertia and corruption by all legislators who refuse to approve laws proven by data to prevent needless, pointless shootings like the one in Uvalde. I am three days shy of graduation and this country has proven to me that I am not safe at school, grocery store, movie theaters, or church. We are not truly safe anywhere. 

The idea of safety in America has always been a fallacy.America is really the only country that deals with mass shootings so regularly. I know that you cannot stop all crime and I understand why people would want to be able to have a gun to feel “safe.” But if other countries have found ways to at least have way less mass shootings.

Don’t you think that we could too?

How could I know how to solve this problem?

I am just three days away from my high school graduation with no idea on how to solve this problem or any in the real world. I just hate seeing this everyday and seeing our own government care way more about topics that are so much less of an issue. I know I wont change laws and opinions but it seems so insane to me how desensitized we are to such horrific acts, this happens every day. This sort of tragedy has become far too common, far too acceptable. This shouldn’t have been acceptable 20 years ago, 4 years ago, or one week ago. This is not normal.

Columbine.

Sandy Hook. 

Santa Fe.

Parkland.

Oxford.

And now it’s Robb Elementary.

In 23 years since Columbine, Congress hasn’t passed a single major gun safety law.

After Sandy Hook, we said never again. And then we let 3,865 mass shootings happen.

When will we be enough?