Two weeks ago, the Douglas County school board met to discuss the recent shooting at Highlands Ranch STEM School. In the meeting, they discussed adding more radios and resource officers to stop future shootings. But why only stop the shootings after they occur? Why not stop them from ever happening?
I sadly have close connections to a number of shootings. The first one I really remember was Virginia Tech. As my father went there, I went with him to deliver an American flag that flew over the embassy in Afghanistan, where he worked at the time. The flag was an offer of condolences from the staff of the embassy and Marines from the shooting.
The next one I remember is the Sandy Hook shooting. This occurred when I was able to understand what was happening more. I still remember thinking, “This should be the last one.” I was wrong.
The next one was Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. I live 10 minutes away from Parkland, and a few days after the shooting, I was supposed to go to the school for a band competition. The following week, I was supposed to play against their lacrosse team to open the lacrosse season. Instead, I, along with the rest of my school, the survivors of Stoneman Douglas, and most of the world mourned and asked: “How has another one happened?”
Finally, there was one this year at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, where someone I knew had to hide, as a student went around trying to shoot whoever he could find.
Most of the solutions that are being discussed to end school shootings are to help aid in stopping the events while they are unfolding. Arming teachers, more radios, an alarm system, etc. are all ways to stop the shooter, but after they started shooting. People could be injured or killed before those measures would be effective. While some members of Congress, including Ted Deutch and Kirsten Gillibrand, have pushed for more gun control laws (such as stricter background checks and allowing police to take away guns if a complaint is put in), none has passed federally. Pro-gun rights groups and believers have said that the focus should not be on the guns, but on the mental health of the individual. However, when legislators want to take away the guns from those suffering from mental health issues, the NRA has lobbied against the action.
It seems like in America, people have given up on ending school shootings. It is like it is something we have to live with, as it is something that just is going to happen. The politicians on both sides of the aisle have moved on to other topics to bicker over, instead of protecting the next generations. I don’t have an answer to solving school shootings and mass shootings in general. All I want is to focus on adressing the cause of the shootings, not the aftermath.
