Updated: Oct. 25, 2014
Originally Published: June 8, 2012
This map illustrates every school shooting since the Sandy Hook tragedy, with red marking K-12 incidents and purple indicating attacks at colleges and universities. (Everytown for Gun Safety/Mark Gongloff, via Vox.com)
Dear America,
It’s time to open our eyes. As I sit at my desk after another day of teaching, the news unfolds with yet another school shooting. The question lingers: could my students, my school, or my colleagues be next? Enough is enough.
Let’s stop perpetuating the tired mantras like “people kill people, not guns” or “the only answer to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” These phrases are not only clichéd but also contribute to the ongoing cycle of gun violence in our nation. The statistics speak for themselves; nations with stricter gun control simply do not experience the same rate of gun-related deaths as we do. Trying to twist the numbers is absurd. We need to wake up and consider the possibility of a world without guns.
We don’t need more firearms. In fact, we don’t need guns at all. Feel free to criticize me or lash out—anyone who insists we must protect the right to bear arms at all costs is living in fear and ignorance. How can an individual right outweigh the basic right of a child to live safely?
I’m scared—terrified, actually. I dread the thought of walking into my school one day and needing to barricade my students in a classroom, hiding in fear of what’s happening outside. I worry about having to make the harrowing choice between my life and the lives of my students. I’m anxious that my daughter won’t be safe when she steps into school this coming September, fearing that someone will intrude upon a place that should be sanctuary and safety.
It frightens me that some people prioritize their misguided “right” to own a firearm over the lives of innocent children who fall victim to gun violence every single day in this country. It’s a sobering thought that our society seems willing to sacrifice our children’s safety for the sake of being able to carry weapons that exist solely to inflict harm.
I am scared. And I declare—enough is enough. Not one more life should be lost.
Guns are not worth the lives they take.
Enough.
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In summary, it’s imperative that we confront the grim reality of gun violence in our schools and communities, recognizing that change is necessary for the safety of future generations. We must prioritize the lives of our children over the misguided interpretations of rights that endanger them.