Growing up in a state like Colorado has many perks. We have over 300 days of sunshine per year, the largest park system in the nation, and people are both highly educated and active. Colorado also is known for several infamous mass shootings.
The Columbine High School massacre took place a month before I was born. My fetal brain was (obviously) completely oblivious to the entire thing, but the event has undoubtedly shaped the way my state views gun safety, security measures, and mental health in schools. April 20 is often seen in Colorado as a day to smoke pot and let loose, but for many it is a harrowing reminder of the evils in this world.
When James Holmes opened fire at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colo., I was in middle school. I still can't sit in a movie theatre without checking the aisles, my heart thudding as the lights go out. If there's even a moment of gunfire in the film I'm watching, I frantically search for someone, anyone who might be suspect. This year, I watched the film "Trainwreck" on the anniversary of the massacre, unknowingly at first, then realizing once I had already dug into my popcorn. My mom told me that it was fitting, that it was good to remember but also to know that I was safe. Living in fear would only cause more hurt. Three days later, in Louisiana, two people were killed watching the same film, causing actress Amy Schumer to become an even bigger advocate for gun safety.
When a school shooting occurred at Arapahoe High School, 15 minutes away from where I go to school, my community was visibly altered. Claire Davis confronted the gunman who walked into the school, targeting a teacher, and she asked him what he was doing. Because she attempted to spread joy, she gave her life to save another. She was a gifted horse rider, always laughing, and made everyone around her feel loved. She had been friends with my cousin, and her loss touched my family, along with many others throughout the community.
"You never think it will happen at your school, until it does," said a student at Arapahoe High School. You never think it will happen at the Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs. You never think that small children will be killed in a senseless tragedy. More Americans have died due to gun violence between 1968 and 2015 than in all of the wars Americans have fought in. Can you imagine? Everyone always asks when it will stop, when the body count stops rising.
While shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "House of Cards" and even "Glee" aim to educate their audiences about what can happen when guns get into the wrong hands, that isn't enough to make a difference. When the world is educated enough about the impacts that guns can have, that violence solves nothing, only then will a visible difference be made.
Thursday, June 2, was National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Only a day before, another shooting occurred, at the University of California in Los Angeles. There are so many stories of college shootings lately that it seems like it will never end. In my search for colleges, I worry. I worry that nowhere is safe, that a shooting could happen anywhere. The truth is, I'm right. It could happen in somewhere as safe as a movie theatre.
It's time for legislators to understand that gun violence won't go away. It boggles my mind to hear that gun safety won't help, that anyone should have the right to bear arms. With all due respect, I don't find myself having to quarter British soldiers in my house or live in fear of being tarred and feathered, so not every Constitutional argument is valid in 2016. It's time to understand that more innocent lives are going to be lost along the way without more security and safety measures.
One day of awareness isn't enough. I don't want to watch the news casts that I know are inevitable, announcing that more lives have been lost after pulling triggers. I don't want to become an adult in a world where people open fire in public places. I can't watch more senseless crimes take place.
Author Stephen King once asked, “How many have to die before we will give up these dangerous toys?” When cell phones require more effort to unlock than a gun, I only hope that in the near future, the death count will finally decline to zero.
