In less than the 8 months of 2018, more than 9,500 people have been killed in shootings. That is over 9,500 moms, dads, children, friends and future leaders. All of these people had their lives taken far too soon, but you're going to try and tell me I can't talk about it?

That's not OK and we can't stand for it anymore.

We, as a nation, need to talk about it and create change. We need to discuss the lack of funding in the mental health system, how easy it to obtain a gun, put more funding into research and try and figure out how to see the warning signs and prevent future incidents. Not only do we need to do more research on shooters, but then we need to apply the research. We need to pass laws on the media to require them to apply the research that has been done because they are part of the problem. It has been shown that many shooters want to get the medias' attention and become 'famous' for causing the biggest mass shooting — at least one shooter praised the Virginia Tech shooter for killing more people than the Columbine shooters.

We need to stop giving the shooters so much coverage during these tragedies and instead focus on the victims and how to prevent this in the future.

Many politicians though will tell others that after mass shootings that this isn't the time to talk about what needs to change. They rather say "we need to let the victim's morn their losses and just send thoughts and prays instead," but then when is the right time to talk about it? Shooting after shooting after shooting, but we still keep getting told "this isn't the time to talk about this."

Yes, there is a time and place to talk about this and it's now. We can't wait any longer and we can't let anyone silence us.

Another thing we can do to try and prevent these horrific crimes is to get out there and vote and elect people that will make the changes needed. We can no longer let the officials get away with refusing to pass laws and ignoring the issues at hand. We need to elect officials that will actually vote on issues instead of just being neutral in fear of not getting reelected. But on the same note, we need to realize this is no longer just politics, this is people's lives we're talking about. This is about being able to feel safe going to school, work, concerts, events, and just leaving our own homes in general.

No longer can we just sit and be afraid, we need to demand change.

By June, there were already 154 mass shootings in the USA alone. How can we, as a country, be OK with that? How can let people say that this is just something we have to deal with? We can longer allow these senseless killings to happen. We need to put more funding into research, make help available to all and watch for warning signs, get out and vote, and force the media to apply the research that has been done. This isn't normal nor is it OK. We, as a country, need to demand change and not let this just be another statics, but what will force us to change and never let this happen again.

Let's make sure these mass shootings stop once and for all and feel safe again in our own country.