Four years ago, at Christmas Time, I stood before my high school student body with a wavering voice and lyrics in my hand, trying to make sense of the latest massacre. Using the lyrics of the Christmastide song "Night of Silence," I tried to understand how someone could use a gun to take the lives of others without a second thought.
I was a senior in high school, and this was the day after Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT experienced a tragic shooting that took the lives of 26 individuals, mostly children. Much of my speech begged the question of God, "Why?" At 16 years old, I was told I was too young to understand the way in which the world worked. And yet, at 20 years old, I still do not understand in the aftermath of the newest national tragedy: Orlando.
Many things have changed in my own life in these four years: school, jobs and personal growth. However, the US has not.
Gun control is still heavily debated and poorly regulated. My opinions, though remaining the same, have only grown more detailed and informed. Instead of begging God the Father, I'd like to ask the lawmakers who decided to recess instead of voting on the bill on everyone's mind, "Why?" How do we explain to these people and their families, who were celebrating the passing of the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling last June, that equality is not here? How do we explain why these innocent people had to experience the tragedies they faced that night, not only in respect of those lost, but those who survived? How do we explain that a gun deserves more protection than a life?
On Wednesday, June 22, many Democratic legislators heard the voices of the people: the hurt, the angry and the confused. Beginning with representatives from New England, a sit-in was staged to protest the lack of legislation.
As a resident of Baltimore and a student of Notre Dame of Maryland, I have witnessed and participated in peaceful protests to have my own voice heard. To see those who supposedly represent my own voice doing the same meant so much. To see these men and women just as hurt, angry and upset as the people proves that they care just as much as the people. It proves that they are doing all in their power to create the bills to resolve these issues we have spoken against.
The sit-in did not fully achieve it's goal of having the bill addressed before the Independence Day Recess, but it has set things in motion. We still have a long way to go before action can come to fruition, but the recognition by those in power has changed the way the public will look at things. Ultimately, as a citizen within the USA, I ask my fellow men and women to be diligent: support your representatives, watch the news and VOTE! If you want the world to change, you must be an active participant. So go out there and make a difference.
