“Let’s be sure to take care of one another during yet another difficult moment for our community. Please keep an eye out for those who may be impacted and if a student is struggling please be sure to connect with your school counselor,” stated BVSD Communications after the recent East High School shooting in Denver.

My question is how long will we have to hold and comfort each other after the countless shootings in our community? How many thoughts and prayers is one capable of sending? How many times will we have to walk into school feeling unsafe, or worry about if our family and friends will come home alive in the afternoon? How many more escape routes am I going to have to plan instead of listening to the teacher’s lecture? How many other places am I going to have to worry about my safety?

I’m already scared at school, the grocery store, and the movie theater. What’s next? My work? My dance studio? Enough is enough, and it’s time for change to happen.

On the morning of Wednesday, March 22nd, the Denver East shooting occurred. A student shot two administrators during a routine safety search in our own capital.
Since then, on March 27th, another school shooting occurred at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Six people died including three children during that particular shooting. However, there have been countless deaths due to gun violence before this, and at the rate our country is running, there will be more to follow.

At least we’ll have more thoughts and prayers.

At this point, I and so many others are numb to the news and numb to the shootings.

Unfortunately, it’s normal in my generation. After the East High School shooting, my aunt from Missouri texted my mom asking how my brother and I reacted to the shooting so close to home.

My mom responded, “Honestly, they are numb to it all… Sadly, this is our kid’s reality until things change with guns.” There was no response from my aunt after that. People aren’t willing to have gun laws changed. In order to truly see change, there must be a change.

One mass shooting should have been more than enough to change laws. I mean that’s what we see in other countries. For example, when the United Kingdom experienced a mass shooting at a school in Dunblane, they immediately tightened gun restrictions. Since that shooting in 1997, there has not been a mass shooting in the United Kingdom. This is what we need to see in our own country as well.

Society is failing younger generations. Younger generations should not only grow up feeling safe at the bare minimum but be able to have access to the resources in order to succeed. Children should be able to grow up and not be killed by our country’s negligence.

Kids and adults need access to mental health resources. They also need a safe environment to prosper. Many violent people have mental health issues. With easy access to the right mental health resources, people can succeed and be less prone to violence. With these resources and tightened laws, the country could be headed in a brighter direction. A direction where kids don’t have to be scared going to school and where innocent lives aren’t lost on a daily basis.

Actual change needs to be put into action in order to see improvement. Safety must be prioritized, and currently it is not. Money and “rights” are being prioritized over the education of youth and the safety of everyone.

Where did my right go to a free and safe education?

It’s not fair for me and other kids to feel threatened in our own schools. It’s not fair for children to have lost their lives because of a person behind an assault rifle and the loose laws of our country.

People should not be able to purchase guns without extensive background checks, mental health checks, higher age limits, and stricter gun control laws. If change doesn’t come soon, we will lose more and more innocent lives at a faster rate than we are already.

It’s time for change. Now.