It’s well past time for adults to take real action to protect kids from gun violence. If adults don’t act, we shoulder the blame the next time someone uses a weapon of war to kill kids.
On February 14, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, a young man used an AR-15 style rifle to murder 17 people. It’s a story we’ve heard too many times. He had two characteristics that most mass shooters share; he was male, and he used a military-style firearm. After the massacre, students at the high school immediately called for common sense gun laws—asking that lawmakers do a better job protecting children. Locally, students from Madison area high schools also called for action by holding a press conference to urge state legislators to pass gun control measures in Wisconsin. Students from all across the country are raising their voices about gun reform and their message is loud and clear: enough is enough.
For nearly two decades, school shootings have unfortunately become a part of life for our children. They practice sitting under their desks, train with teachers and others in active shooter drills, and hope their classrooms can be locked from the inside. Our children remind us this is not how they should be using their class time. It is the repeated and shameful inaction of adults at the state and federal level that has made this their reality.
Adults need to listen to the students from Parkland, Columbine, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Red Lake, and other schools tragically affected by gun violence. We must also listen to students here in Wisconsin, who don’t want their school to be next. We must ensure the right of every kid to attend school free from the fear of being gunned down in their seat. Our children are asking us to put their lives first by enacting common-sense gun laws. They are asking us to live up to our responsibilities to keep them safe—to make mass shootings non-existent.
They are right. We must do better. We can do better.
At Kids Forward we are committed to building the best future for every child and every family in Wisconsin. Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas told us how to build this future. She called out politicians taking donations from the NRA, rejected victim blaming by prominent politicians, and scolded us all for our lack of action. She called “BS” on the rhetoric and political entrenchment that resists positive change.
Kids Forward stands with students across the country as they demand safer schools. And we will stand with them as they exercise their first amendment rights on March 14 during the National Day School Walkout to End Gun Violence. We also strongly urge state and federal lawmakers to begin working on common-sense gun laws—laws that make it much more difficult for individuals to obtain military-style firearm.
Let’s listen to our youth and act.
