Horror. Shock. Outrage.
Emotions we’ve experienced too many times after a mass shooting in this country. Sadly, here we are again.
This time, children at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas were in the crosshairs. Nineteen of them. Nineteen desks that are empty today. Nineteen beds that will be empty tonight. Nineteen families – and those of the two teachers killed – absolutely devastated.
When does it end? What must happen in the United States for our country to enact meaningful gun reform? How many more children must die in the classroom, the very sanctuary where they should feel safe? As the grandmother of a 7- and 9-year-old, my heart breaks for those families and that community.
Gun violence is a public health issue and has been for far too long. The American Public Health Association says guns kill more than 38,000 people a year and is the leading cause of premature death. Think about that.
Once again, this is a time for empathy, a time to lend support and prayers and a shoulder to cry on for those whose lives will never be the same. But it’s also a time for action, a time to do better by tightening background checks and taking away the ability for someone to buy a semi-automatic weapon. The gunman in yesterday’s school shooting had a handgun and an AR-15 assault weapon.
Yesterday’s massacre was both predictable and preventable. If the 2012 horror of Sandy Hook wasn’t enough, perhaps this massacre will be. Let’s work toward a day when parents who send their child to school don’t have to suffer the horror being experienced by the families in Uvalde. For the sake of our children – and our country – it needs to happen.