I’m angry. Seventeen people are dead and more are wounded after a man with a history of violence, expulsion and gun obsession walked into his former school and opened fire with an AR-15.
To those of you who are saying that this is a mental health issue, I agree. So let’s get funding and some type of screening so young people who brag on Facebook about wanting to kill people with AR-15s cannot legally obtain them. Some Republicans will say that it’s not a gun issue, but will then vote against funding for any sort of mental health screening.
While I agree that this is a mental health issue, it is irresponsible to deny that it is also a gun issue. Let’s be real here, we are the only country in the world with this epidemic. Yes, other countries have violence and crime, but we suffer more mass shootings and more gun deaths than any other country in the world.
Taking away guns is obviously not the correct answer. Too many Americans already own guns, and guns are an essential part of our constitution and our republic as a whole. But let’s analyze what specific guns are being used.
Fifty-eight people were killed in my hometown of Las Vegas last year at the deadly shooting near the Mandalay Bay hotel. The shooter used an AR-15.
Forty-nine lives were taken in 2016 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, and the shooter used an AR-15.
Twenty children between the ages of six and seven were killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The shooter used an AR-15.
Seventeen high schoolers, coaches and teachers are dead after the events that took place on Valentine’s Day in Florida. The shooter used-you guessed it-an AR-15.
There are countless other massacres where “America’s most popular rifle” has been used to slaughter innocent civilians. Let’s try to put this into perspective.
If AR-15s were illegal, and these shooters only had access to handguns, then I am certain the loss of life wouldn’t be as catastrophic. I find it sad, though, that I have to compromise the loss of innocent lives at all. The AR-15, a military grade semi-automatic rifle that can be modified to be fully automatic, needs to be outlawed and taken off our streets.
I also turn my eyes to Republican representatives. After the shooting in Las Vegas, nothing changed. There was a bill on the floor in Congress to outlaw the sale of bump-stocks, the device used to modify a semi-automatic rifle into a fully- automatic rifle. That bill was denied by Republicans who receive campaign funding from the National Rifle Association. Republicans also denied a bill that would outlaw people on the terrorist watch list from buying guns legally. Why? To keep their pockets full of money from the NRA.
My heart broke on Valentine’s Day as I watched television footage of children running out of their school with their hands above their heads, surrounded by men with big guns. A teacher who was being interviewed said she felt let down by her country. I agree with her.
We have a societal issue with guns. We idolize them and think having an AR-15 in case of a government takeover or home invasion trumps the safety of country music concert goers, six and seven year olds, people at a nightclub, or children trying to get an education in one of the safest counties in America.
Lastly, I must question the people calling this a “tragedy.” By definition, tragedy is fated and inevitable. Nothing can be done to stop it. This was no tragedy.
Can we really be shocked that this happened? Military-grade weapons and high-capacity magazines are legal. The FBI didn’t do enough to track his suspicious YouTube comments or Facebook posts before the shooting. When the Las Vegas massacre happened, people told me it was too soon to discuss the problem with guns.
Well, here we are yet again. Is it still too soon?
According to the victims who lived through this violence, the answer is no. It is not too soon.
Students from the Florida high school are speaking out on television and in front of big audiences. They are using their young, empowered voices to express their disappointment in our government and their lack of action.
They are calling “BS” on representatives who refuse to take action. They are encouraging everyday people, like you and me, to stand with them, to stand against gun violence and the corruption within our executive branch.
Call your representatives. We need to put an end to the slaughter of the innocent.
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