Guns

My Facebook alerts lit up the screen today with people "liking" my interest in the Cherry Creek HS student walkout. It's more than a week away, and student leaders have squared it with the school and the local police.  Though the walkout doesn't specify an associated cause, it appears closely linked to the recent student responses against gun violence. In my mind, at least, the walkout represents an action against politicians bought by the NRA, against government inaction that results in death.  Fully sanctioned, with parents pledged to join their students in support, it should be a beautiful thing, a way to channel anger into meaningful action.

I don't feel that beauty, that transformative channeling; what I feel is cold, gut-shrinking fear.  That my children, that anyone's children, should face death because they step onto a school campus, is mind-bendingly horrific and otherworldly. My sister and my sister-in-law are teachers; I can't breathe when I think too hard. There's certainly nothing to "like" about the situation, in fact, I can hardly bear to write this post, have put off writing it for two weeks. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy made me ill, the bravery and strength of newly branded student-activists made me grateful, then the negative reaction of many to the students (the doubt, the further threats) made me ill again.

As my friend pointed out, we have shrink-wrapped and child-locked our Advil containers so children (and some adults) can't open them. We have mandated helmets for bikes, skateboards and skis, we have removed swing sets from playgrounds and taken the high dives out of the pool. We are a nation overly cautious for our children - except when it comes to semi-automatic weapons. Who can sanction this madness? Young people can't drink until age 21 but they can buy rifles at 18.  Fully automatic weapons can't be sold but the parts that make semi-automatic weapons fully automatic are legal.  This must end.

I give money to Everytown  for Gun Safety (https://everytown.org/), an organization working for reasonable rules around purchasing guns.  They're small compared to the NRA, but if enough of us join, enough of us overcome our frozen fear to act, we can take on the behemoth that wants to sacrifice our children to its own interests. The walkout is just a start, this blog is just a start, and I hope that you start with me.