In recent years, an overwhelming amount of children have been affected by an overwhelming amount of gun violence.
So, what does this mean for the topic of gun violence as a whole? It means children are gathering nationwide, fighting for their right to stop living in fear.
It is beyond sad that such a striking number of kids have had to witness their classmates and friends go through something this awful, or even worse... have had to experience it firsthand, for themselves.
There is no reason why this should be happening, and there is no reason why the conversation regarding gun violence should so blatantly avoid guns themselves. You cannot talk about gun violence without talking about guns. You just can't, and the sooner we all accept that, the better.
Sure, you can center the dialogue around, for example, mental illness. But if someone is mentally ill enough to shoot, why were they able to get their hands on a gun? Don't feed me your "their parents had a gun", "they stole it", "other excuse that doesn't solve the problem" answers. A gun does not belong in a household with someone who has such bad intentions. If the gun was stolen, why was it so easy to steal? We need to seriously take these questions into consideration and investigate what can be done to keep them from even being necessary to ask in the first place.
We need to stop beating around the bush and cut to the chase. Guns are too easily accessible. Point blank. The fact that so many people have managed to get this far without actually, seriously discussing the guns themselves is mind-blowing to me, and even more so, simply childish.
This is no longer an issue of left versus right. This is no longer an issue that comes down to political beliefs. This is a problem that at its core deals with safety and the human, fundamental right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.
How is a child meant to pursue these things if they are forced to live in fear of going to school on the off chance that a classmate might put their lives in danger, especially if it has happened before? How is anyone meant to pursue those things if they are forced to live in fear of someone else putting their life in danger?
Even more infuriating is the fact that on July 11, a proposal to allot a million dollars to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for gun violence research was rejected with a 32-20 vote. The CDC is already free to study injuries that resulted from firearms, but this ability to do more research offered the potential to make note of specifics, circumstantial information, and other data that could have been incredibly helpful in identifying all of the parts of the equation.
This issue does not affect only children, though that is the focus of this article. Gun violence is a widespread issue affecting all demographics, which even further emphasizes how important it is that we find a solution now.
Students of Stoneman Douglas have taken a stand after gun violence wreaked havoc on their school earlier this year. With their nationwide March for Our Lives Road to Change tour, students demand the attention they deserve, voicing to lawmakers the urgency of the situation.
In Chicago, just in 2018, over 1,300 people have been killed due to gun violence. 83 of those victims were under the age of 17. Chicago activism hasn't fallen short. Thousands of demonstrators took a stand earlier this month, closing part of the I-94. Lucy Sanchez, an only-16-years-old activist with Chicago Strong, explained that their goal is "to fight for each one of our lives". Because it really has come to that.
Children are banding together to make a difference, quite literally taking to the streets and refusing to back down until a change is made. Their strength, bravery, and resilience, many of them having come face to face with the tragedy of gun violence, is something which I admire greatly, as should all of us.
Because younger generations at this point have basically been dealing with gun violence for our whole lives, or the majority of our lives, we are more driven now than ever to make sure we see an end to this issue. What strikes me, though, is the fact that people who are so young seem to be more determined to end the violence than the officials themselves. It's sad, it's disappointing, and it's shameful, to be quite honest. As mentioned earlier, I do not believe a truly, entirely productive conversation about gun violence can take place if that conversation does not include guns themselves. Do I think there are other factors that contribute and play into gun violence? Yes, of course, I do, and I think that's one thing we can all agree on. But when you put these factors aside, it comes down to guns and nothing else.
In the US, you must be at least 21 years old to buy a handgun, but only 18 to buy a long gun in most places. Even more frightening is the fact that some states allow 14 and 16-year-olds to purchase rifles. Pretty frightening, considering the fact that someone of this age cannot even drink alcohol yet, due to the fact that their brain is not yet fully developed. Really, this is just the beginning of the problems with gun accessibility, but it is something that needs to be taken into account.
Consider this: if the perpetrator hadn't been able to get their hands on a gun that day, how would things have played out differently? You might argue that they would have gotten their hands on another weapon, but even if they did, other weapons aren't quite as effective if someone intends to impose mass chaos and fatalities. This means that there would be much, much more of an opportunity for the weapon to be taken from their hands, for example, or for victims to protect themselves, fight back, or get out. There would be more of an opportunity to prevent the violence. There would be more of an opportunity to make it out alive.
So, keep telling me that "even if we make guns harder to access, they'll find a way". I'll respond with this: guns that are harder to access are simply that. Harder to access. Harder to access means more time needed to solidify a plan, and a plan that takes more time means more of a chance for someone to recognize warning signs, red flags, or part of the plan itself before disaster ensues. More time means more of a chance that, maybe, someone will say "this person might be up to something".
Harder to access is better than readily accessible.