U.S. NATIONAL CRISIS: PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

 

Just like any other day, the morning came to pass as normal at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. By the time the day drew to a close, the small town would be left reeling from one of the deadliest incidents of school shootings by death toll.

At approximately 9:30 in the morning, a 20-year-old gunman walked into the school and opened fire, killing 20 first-grade children aged six and seven, along with six adults, including four teachers, the principal, and the school psychologist, before taking his own life. The shock and horror of that day are still crystal clear, as are the memories of the survivors and the grieving families of the victims.

Nicole Hockley, the mother of Dylan who was killed in the shooting, shared, heavy with grief: “My son was a loving, caring, and outgoing child. He had his whole life ahead of him, and it was stolen from him in an instant. No parent should ever have to experience what we did.”

Sad to say, Sandy Hook was not an isolated incident. Close to a thousand miles away in Nashville, Tennessee, after more than a decade, marked by several school mass shootings leading to a lot of children’s deaths later, another shooting in Nashville elementary school broke out on Monday, March 23, adding up to the death of three 9-year-old children and three adults.

Ashley Beasley, a highland Park survivor who was visiting Nashville jumped in at one news conference, giving her piece of mind to the press.

“My son and I survived the mass shooting over the summer. I’m in Tennessee on a family vacation, with my son, visiting my sister-in-law. I have been lobbying in DC since we survived the mass shooting in July. I have met over a hundred thirty lawmakers. How is this still happening? How are still our children dying? And why are we failing them? This mass shooting will continue to happen until our lawmakers step up and pass safety legislation.

“Aren’t you tired of it? Aren’t you sick of it? We have to do something.”

Though I craft this piece on the other side of the planet, I couldn’t help myself from feeling uneasy a bit with such a heart-rending mass shooting in the U.S. Two days ago, my three-year-old granddaughter, Bhrylle, celebrated her birthday in Texas. Having not met her personally since the day she was brought into this world, I pieced together this poem for her:

B – birthday girl, oh sweet BHRYLLE,

H – Harvey dad cooking, it’s a feast to tell,

R – roasted chicken and rainbow jello,

Y – you’ll have lots of presents, oh yellow,

L – laugh with big sister Andrei, dance with glee,

L – love Jan mom’s hugs, warm as can be,

E – eat that cake, just leave some for me.

Soon afterward, I came upon, all of a sudden, the heartbreaking news of the Nashville elementary school shooting involving 9-year-old children. It’s gut-wrenching.

Bearing the same brunt of not having hugged her granddaughter ever since, grandma, after reading my past ATABAY article on “anti-Asian hate crimes”, tipped off our daughter’s family in Texas to buy groceries in company with other Pinoy families hinting at the folk-wisdom of “strength in numbers.” When she floated the idea of enrolling her granddaughters in martial art class, the family chat room, for a short while, perks up with pros and cons chit-chats.

In earnest, as an observer looking from and thinking outside the box, I firmly believe it’s time for U.S. lawmakers to act in unity to pass legislation to address this threat of mass shootings in schools. Immediate measures must include mandating comprehensive background checks for all gun purchases, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and strengthening the enforcement of existing gun laws.

These measures, while not a complete solution, will undoubtedly make it more difficult for individuals with ill intentions to acquire deadly weapons.

The need for action is clear. “Gun violence in the United States results in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries annually and was the leading cause of death for children 19 and younger in 2020. In 2018, the most recent year for which data are available as of 2021, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics reports 38,390 deaths by firearm, of which 24,432 were by suicide. The rate of firearm deaths per 100,000 people rose from 10.3 per 100,000 in 1999 to 12 per 100,000 in 2017, with 109 people dying per day.” (Wikipedia)

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 614 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2021, resulting in over 700 deaths and nearly 3,000 injuries. The vast majority of these shootings occurred in public places, including schools, where innocent children are most vulnerable.

It’s time for U.S. leadership to put their political differences aside and come together to address this urgent issue. The safety of the children should be the top priority. No one can hold on to live in a society where mass shootings are a common occurrence.

For sure, some argue against gun control measures, citing the Second Amendment rights. But it’s worth remembering that the right to bear arms does not mean the right to own any weapon or accessory one desires. The U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that reasonable regulations on firearms are permissible, and it’s hard to argue that background checks and bans on assault weapons and high magazines are not reasonable.

Moreover, it’s important to recognize that these measures will not infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens who wish to own firearms for self-defense or recreational purposes. Rather, they will simply make it more difficult for those with malicious intent to obtain weapons that can be used to cause mass harm.

In the end, the reality is stark: innocent children are the victims of these terrible mass shootings. This should be a call to action that touches the deep-rooted sensibilities in the innermost recesses of the human moral sense of the whole citizenry. It’s time for U.S. elected officials to do everything in their power to ensure that schools and public places are safe for children.

As President Biden once said in his remarks on gun violence, “We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again. I got that done when I was a senator. It passed. It was the law for the longest time, and it brought down these mass killings. We should do it again.”

It’s time for U.S. lawmakers to act with urgency and pass meaningful legislation to protect children from the threat of mass shootings. The time for unity is now.

Head still photo courtesy of CNN