Tag: school shooting

Gun Control and Schools

school safety
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

I’m having a hard time putting into words my feelings over the past couple of days. I work in education but I’m also a parent. I worry about the kids and teachers whom I work with but I also worry about sending my daughter to school.

Note: she just finished 4th grade, which has struck me right in the center of my being after the deaths of many 4th graders in Texas. They were the same age as my own daughter. Frightening, to say the least.

My biggest issue now is responding to those who believe we don’t need to do anything about gun control in the US. I’m tired of their “thoughts and prayers” that don’t do much.

Thankfully, Steve Singer has a good response:

This is not hard.

The rest of the world has cracked the code. Just not us.

Not the U.S.

Guns are the leading cause of death for American children –  1 out of 10 people who die from guns in this country are 19 or younger.

Steve Singer

Read more here: If You Don’t Support Gun Control, You Support School Shootings

On the Uvalde Tragedy

27 school shootings have taken place so far in 2022.

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1101050970/2022-school-shootings-so-far

What we know about the terrorist attack in Uvalde, TX on May 24, 2022:

  • At least 21 dead; 19 students and 2 adults
  • Uvalde is “the kind of place where ‘interconnections are thick’ and no one would have expected a mass shooting at the local school”
  • The suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother before going to Robb Elementary
  • The suspect (terrorist) purchased two assault-style rifles on his 18th birthday, though authorities have not confirmed whether these were the weapons used in the shooting
  • All victims were in the same fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary School

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/uvalde-gunman-bought-two-guns-on-his-18th-birthday-texas-senator-says/2977034/

https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-44a7cfb990feaa6ffe482483df6e4683

On the Terrorist

  • Ramos had hinted on social media that an attack could be coming, state Sen Roland Gutierrez, who was briefed by police, told reporters. “He suggested the kids should watch out,” the lawmaker said.
  • He shot his grandmother before driving to Robb Elementary just before midday on Tuesday
  • He “suffered from a fraught home life and lashed out violently against peers and strangers recently and over the years…”
  • The Texas Department of Public Safety said he was wearing body armor and armed with a rifle.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/salvador-ramos-texas-school-shooting-uvalde-b2087035.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/25/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-gunman/

Responses:

My Response:

I’m tired of reading these headlines. I’m tired of thinking about my own daughter not being safe in her school. I’m tired of thinking about the teachers and students I work with every day and them not being safe.

I’m tired of having to think about getting shot while in school when there are so many other things we should be focused on during our days but we can’t because we continue to allow guns like this to be sold.

I’m tired of bullying. I’m tired of not taking mental health seriously.

I’m tired. And I’m mad.

Hopefully, you are, too. And you’re ready to do something about it.