HANK GUO

A group of elementary school-aged boys crowd into a cafe. Each carries a backpack and a handful of cash their parents gave them. Getting in line to order, their conversation goes from basketball to their gym teacher and then to summer vacation, when someone suddenly asks: 

 

“What would you text your mom if a shooter came into school?” 

 

This is the life of children in America right now. This year alone, there have been 27 school shootings in which 83 people died or were injured: 24 students who will never graduate from high school, three teachers who will never start another school year, 56 people injured, some for life, and countless families whose lives will forever be changed by the loss of their loved ones. 

 

As Democrats and Republicans drift further into their political enclaves after each massacre, many Americans have simply adapted to the horrific reality. These lives should not be viewed as a mere statistic, but rather by the individuals who lived them. Gun control is not a political issue. It is a human crisis.

 

From 2019 to 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that there was nearly a 35 percent increase in firearm deaths. However, despite the progress some states have made in passing common sense gun laws – background checks, red flag laws, and minimum age requirements – gun control continues to be attacked. In May, a federal court struck down a California law restricting the purchase of semiautomatic weapons until age 21. This month, the Supreme Court is expected to overturn some of New York’s toughest gun restriction laws.   

 

Over 88 percent of the American population support common sense gun laws like universal background checks. Yet major lobbying groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) continue to protest the expansion and improvement of basic gun restrictions. Justifying their opposition with the idea that gun restrictions only harms law abiding citizens, the NRA fails to recognize the actual narrative. In Buffalo, the shooter was able to obtain his AR-15-style assault rifle legally, mirroring the 77 percent of shootings carried out with weapons obtained lawfully. And in Uvalde, the shooter obtained his weapon even after being reported for violent online threats. 

 

Politicians and lawmakers operate at a disconnect with the victims of gun violence. Just a few hours from Uvalde, Republican strong arms Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and former president Donald Trump spoke at the NRA’s annual convention. Rather than seeing mass shootings as a humanitarian crisis, America’s normalization of it highlights the cycle of ignorance rooted in the disconnect between people and politicians. 

 

“What would you text your mom if a shooter came into school?”