IT’S NOT THE GUNS.

In my first year at university, a teacher I didn’t know shepherded me into a room with no windows. I tried to ask what was going on, and he kindly asked me to please just come inside.

Confused, and sitting in a room with my peers, I got a text message on my phone, alerting me that there was an active shooter.

Fortunately it was an isolated incident.

In my third year on campus, on the first day of fall semester classes, my teacher gave us a quick run-down on what we should do, and what he would do, if an active shooter was in the building.

Has this become our new normal?

Schools are supposed to be safe. They are supposed to be a haven for students, no matter where they come from, to learn and grow and succeed. So how many times are we going to grieve over children who have been gunned down in a place that is supposed to be a sanctuary? How many times are you going to ask me to send “thoughts and prayers” to families who did not need to lose their loved ones?

Every. Single. Shooting. Is. Preventable. 

And if you say it isn’t, you are lying to yourself. 

Our country is breaking. And “thoughts and prayers” alone are not going to heal us. We need action. We need the people we elected as our representatives to accurately, and aggressively advocate on our behalf, for our safety and our well-being. We need our representatives to hear the pain, the anger, and the call to action their constituents are screaming at them.

I understand that under the Second Amendment, we as citizens of the United States have the right to bear arms. 

I am not advocating to take away that right, or the guns you might currently own. 

But I am asking you to take a moment, and recall the history behind that amendment. The Constitution was written in a time when our democracy and our nationhood was fragile and new. Citizens and our founders alike feared future tyrannical rule, and wanted to keep power in the hands of the people. It was also a time when semi-automatic, and automatic weapons did not exist. We’ve all seen the PSA.

So now we’ve had a nice little chuckle at the ridiculousness of a musket. I’m still not advocating to take away your guns. 

I am asking for a change in the system of how, where, and who can purchase firearms. I’m asking for extensive background checks, required gun safety classes, psychological exams, a limit on the amount of ammo that can be purchased in one transaction, more restrictions and requirements on private sales, and a more thorough test to receive any permit for ANY gun.

I understand why people want guns. Be it for hunting, protection, heck, I even understand the appeal of collecting them.

I do not understand why semi-automatic weapons are so readily available, and easily accessible. I do not understand how an average citizen could justify having an AR-15, or any firearm of that caliber. They look like military-grade weapons, because they were initially manufactured as military-grade weapons. Frankly, the great appeal and easy accessibility that AR-15s seem to have, frightens me.

I know your next argument, “It’s not the guns, it’s the people”. You’re not wrong. But you’re also not right.

It’s not just the guns, because you have to have a person to make the decision to pull the trigger. But it’s also not just people, because you have to have a trigger to pull. 

I, personally, am not solely blaming the United State’s relationship with guns for these heinous, tragic, nauseating massacres.

I am also blaming the United States’ miserable treatment of and for the mentally ill. 

It is absolutely undeniable that there is a stigma surrounding mental health in the United States. We do not treat it with the importance and care it deserves. We say that mentally ill people are “crazy” and leave it up to them to figure out a way to deal with it. Alone.

Of course a person who makes the decision to walk into *any public place* and open fire is unwell. But why is it that these sick people have easier access to firearms than they do to proper care?

I’ll wait while you find a suitable answer.

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Nikolas Cruz was severely unwell. And people knew it. There were red flags. Literally everywhere. But they were ignored. And current gun laws allowed this unhealthy 19-year old to LEGALLY purchase a weapon that EASILY slaughtered 17 students. Teens, who had so much life, so much potential ahead of them are now buried because our nation has decided to leave an epidemic unaddressed.

Dear Congress, and Mr. President,

We appreciate your “thoughts and prayers”, but that is simply not enough. We need PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, not stagnant arguments in Congress over how to prevent future massacres like the ones that happened at Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas. We need parties on both sides of the issue to LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, and COMPROMISE. It is our constitutional right to own firearms, but the laws we have are insufficient. It is illegal to commit murder, and those who choose to break the law will be punished. But why are we not making it at least a little bit more difficult for criminals to break the law? Currently, we are idle bystanders. We might even be enablers. Congress, Mr. President, please acknowledge that there are sick people in our nation that NEED HELP, not the cold shoulder, and definitely not easy access to firearms. Please lead us down the path to de-stigmatize mental health issues and create a more inclusive, healthy, safe nation. I’ll give you a hint, the journey might start with your “thoughts and prayers”, but it doesn’t end there.

Please. We are begging you. The future of America is begging you. 

I think the U.S. lacks an overall respect for guns that is found in many other nations. Those who choose to own firearms have a right to do so in this country. But I implore you, please respect that right, and the great gravity of that right. Please, do not forget the power that right literally puts in your hands, and the great responsibility you must carry.

The constitutional right that you cherish has the power to destroy lives, not just protect your own.