School shootings are not just a tragedy of the past, but a calamity of the present. There have been 53 school shootings that left 19 dead and 84 injured this year in America.
School shootings have become synonymous with America and it is the country with the highest rate of school shootings. When other countries experience these atrocities there are strict changes to gun laws and policies.
Legislators can no longer turn a blind eye to this epidemic. Gun safety measures need to be enforced to make our schools and our children safe. In homes, guns need to be secured and children should have no access to them.
Abby Zwerner was shot by her 6 year old student at an elementary school in Virginia in 2023. She was shot in the chest and hand and almost died. Although the child was not criminally charged, his mother was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to felony child neglect.
Zwerner was awarded $10 million in a civil lawsuit against Eboney Parker who was the assistant principal at the time. Parker allegedly ignored multiple reports of the child having a gun and is now being charged with eight felony counts of child abuse and neglect.
Gun safety education needs to be mandatory for all gun owners. People must learn how to properly store a gun and not endanger others.
However there is not one simple solution to ending school shootings. Gun safety is a part of the problem but not the whole problem. Mental health initiatives need to become more of a priority.
Project Cal-STOP is a government funded program that is focused on violence prevention and giving students and staff in California mental health training.
Not only do school shootings cause physical harm, but they also cause psychological trauma. Students who do not bear tangible wounds are still victims of these shootings.
Children no longer have the luxury of remaining ignorant to these horrors. Students, as early as kindergarten, participate in lock down drills in order to prepare for emergencies. They are forced to experience the blaring euro siren while they hide.
Teachers and parents are compelled to explain to kids that they have to practice hiding because sometimes bad people do bad things.
As a product of California’s school system I remember my first lock down drill. I remember trembling in a dark corner surrounded by my classmates. I can clearly see my teacher demanding silence even as silent tears slipped down my face.
The media has become desensitized to school shootings because of how often they occur. They have become a part of everyday life and are something that Americans are just told to accept. Only the most brutal and heartless attacks make national headlines.
And yet students in America have to live with the fear that their school will be next; that they will be the next news headline.
Mass shootings in America need to end. Whether it is through mental health initiatives or gun restriction, action needs to be taken against this growing epidemic. Going to school and receiving an education is not grounds to be shot and killed.
