St. Johns, Michigan (January 3rd)

Seattle, Washington (January 4th)

Sierra Vista, Arizona (January 10th)

San Bernardino, California (January 10th)

Denison, Texas (January 10th)

Marshall, Texas (January 15th)

Winston-Salem, North Carolina (January 20th)

Italy, Texas (January 22nd)

Gentilly, Louisiana (January 22nd)

Benton, Kentucky (January 23rd)

Mobile, Alabama (January 25th)

Dearborn, Michigan (January 26th)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (January 31st)

Los Angeles, California (February 1st)

Oxon Hill, Maryland (February 5th)

Maplewood, Minnesota (February 5th)

New York, New York (February 8th)

Parkland, Florida (February 14th)

* * *

On February 14th, Nikolas Cruz walked into Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 rifle.

Instead of going to school on Wednesday morning for his GED classes, he went to his old high school and shot innocent people.

The family that he lived with knew that he had a gun; they knew that he owned a lethal weapon.

They said he had to keep it in a lockbox.

Clearly, that did not work.

In 2017, Parkland was named as Florida’s safest city, with only 7 violent crimes and 186 property crimes that year.

Now, the “safest city” has experienced a school shooting.

Yesterday, when I heard about the school shooting that happened a few miles from my house, I was scared and speechless. I cried for the families whose lives were affected. But I also cried because this easily could have taken place at my sister’s high school, just a few miles down the road from Stoneman Douglas High School.

School is supposed to be considered a safe space.

Parents send their children off to school every day expecting them to come home safely seven hours later.

Some children with bad home lives see school as their only reprieve from the other stressors of life.

And, I wonder, what is wrong with our country that a man, who is not a student at a school, can walk onto school grounds with a gun?

Citizens 18 years and older can purchase shotguns, rifles, and ammunition.

Citizens 21 years and older can purchase any other type of gun.

The only people who meet the age requirements who can’t buy guns are those deemed “unsafe,” so individuals who have been convicted of a felony or individuals who have been admitted to a mental institution against their own will.

Yes, most school shooters do have underlying mental health issues. Yes, mental health problems are a major issue in the United States that are not taken nearly seriously enough.

Yes, treatments and stigma towards mental health need to be changed so people feel more comfortable becoming about their own mental illness or speaking to their loved one because they are worried about signs which they are displaying.

But we also need changes in gun laws.

I know there are “regulations,” but they are not nearly strict enough. And there are also loopholes.

The 2nd Amendment was created in the 1700s. Back then, guns could shoot 2-3 rounds per minute. Now, they could shoot upwards of 180 rounds per minute.

I’m a Republican who supports President Trump, but I am a firm believer that action needs to be taken so this doesn’t happen again.

Guns do kill people. People do kill people.

Without such easy access to guns, people will still be killed. But we should lower the odds in whatever way we can do so.