Voices of the Future: Choose Life Not Guns!
Apparently, students who survived the gun shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school in Parkland, Florida on Feb.14th, 2018 are the true pro-life advocacy voices. In the wake of, yet another senseless school gun shooting they decided that, enough! Enough schools’ bloodshed from guns shootings, to keep silent and wait for the next school gun shooting that is cutting their lives short while disabling many physically, mentally, as well as social-emotionally.
The children are matching, rallying and debating about gun safety control across America and want their voices to be heard! They realize their voices are their future! They care to call for actions for the right to live and to live without fear of being gunned down while in school or in their communities. They are asking, have we not as a society reached a tipping point yet? Having seen so many school guns shootings in recent years, (https://everytownresearch.org/school-shootings/5955/)do leaders owe children and their families more than just a lip-service? We want our elected leaders to talk the talk and walk the walk!
It is very ironic that the same group of adults-people who claimed to be the strongest proponent of pro-life is the same group of adults-people who are protecting guns and will do anything to block any sensible measures for safety guns regulations including common sense guns control such as increased background checks. If you care and protect the unborn children, why not care and save young children’s lives?
Those who advocate protecting unborn babies (the pro-life advocates) must also promote the empowerment and the right to well-being of all children unborn and young children. Pro-life should mean enriching the life not threatening the life; pro-life should also mean life is worth protecting, instead of protecting guns that take life. What hypocrisy that is? Our children, however, will figure it out for us…how to go after those adults-people who we empowered to make necessary and needed changes, yet they choose not to, but to play politics!
Following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school gun shooting which took 17 lives and injured 14, the students decided they will act to demand actions…they won’t be the bystanders witnessing the loss of lives at the young age while their elected adults-leaders are bickering on the importance of safety guns control and guns ownership.
These young children are our children and their lives are threatened and at risk. Their voices are all they have to change the culture of guns in America and ultimately save lives. These children are not only reminding the adults that they are the future nation, but also that parents should never have to burial their child!
The voices of our young children are the voices of the future. Voices that are demanding their lives be protected. Their demands are not super complicated or hard to meet! Their demands are for the leaders to take responsibility and accountability in putting the rightful measures in place that will prevent further mass guns shootings nationwide from Florida, California, Connecticut, to many other places.
(Check these recent schools “Mass guns shooting” since1999 Columbine high school shooting):
Columbine High School (Apr. 20th, 1999)
Red Lake Reservation (March 21st, 2005)
West Nickel Mines Amish School (Oct. 2nd, 2006)
Virginia Tech (Apr. 16th,2007)
Northern Illinois University (Feb. 14th, 2008)
Oikos University (Apr. 4th, 2012)
Sandy Hook Elementary (Dec. 14th, 2012)
Santa Monica College (June 7th, 2013)
Marysville Pilchuck High School (Oct. 24, 2014)
Umpqua Community College (Oct.5th,2015
Rancho Tehama Elementary (Nov. 14th, 2017)
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Feb. 14th, 2018)
As a parent of a high school student and an educator, I fear what the students fears, and that is not okay in the 21st century that we are living in fear of what might happen at any moment because everyone has the right to guns. It should also be noted that we do have right to live too! So, which should supersede the other, the right to live or the right to guns? The answer to this question doesn’t require a rocket scientist to figure it out! If the adults we empowered to lead and protect our children and all of us can’t even use the optimal and logical reasoning to change the culture of guns in America, then, they are not fit to stay in those positions we empowered them to hold; and through the voices of our children they will be voted out.
Now than ever, “real actions” that “make a real difference” in our society’s way of life is in demand. A society that is embodied with “total safety” and “respect for human lives”, a healthy and vibrant society that you do not have to live in fear day in day out and/or with a nightmare many parents who lost their children due to senseless school’s guns shootings are living through.
What Changes our Children are Demanding?
1. Optimal and logical guns laws and policies-pass the laws that will help prevent another shooting tragedy.
2. Uphold universal background checks-plus use of technology to put together some systematic procedures that will counter check personal information of the individuals purchasing a gun to avoid guns getting into the hands of people who should not possess guns due to mental or social-emotional impairment, plus limit number of guns per individual to avoid private gun sales to unqualified individuals.
3. Close the gun law loophole (private sale loophole or gun show loophole) to stop the sale of guns to the unlicensed individual or selling guns to individuals without performing background checks. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_show_loophole and http://www.politicalfact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/jan/07/poitical-sheet-3-things-know-about-gun-show-loop/).
4. Ban the assault/military style weapons and bump stocks sales which are only illegal in California and are in unclear regulatory status in several other states.
5. Calling for donors who give politicians money during elections to be elected so that they legislate on their behalf instead of the welfare of the public to give that money to schools to increase security and improve safety environment in our schools.
6. No arming teachers-teachers should carry books to school, not guns! The idea that teachers be armed to create a safer schools’ environment is another “false narrative” intended to deviate from the real actions and solutions much needed on guns safety control. Aren’t we there yet in identifying lies and fiction from the truth and nonfiction? The idea of arming teachers is a smart strategy for marketing for guns’ manufacturers as it will put more gun in the hands of the public and therefore increase guns sales. It is a continuation of distrustful of human sincerity or integrity and disregard of appropriate standards to curb the culture of guns in America. Does Australia, Japan, Israel, and many other countries which do not suffer mass guns shooting as America do arm their teachers? If these countries managed to curb the problem of guns shootings in schools and in their communities, why America can’t?
7. Ban Politicians’ “intentional lies”-intentional lies are a deceit with a mixture of betrayal! Words intended to easy or threaten the public outpour cry when confronted with an issue that society is struggling with to resolve-guns, immigration, work discrimination, sexual assault or domestic violence is a disservice to the people, and therefore our young children are fade up with adults’ lies and are demanding a “real talk” and a “real walk” from the adults-politicians who want to remain relevant and responsive to all people, not to the few-the NRA lobbyist and/or other interest groups.
When they Want the Changes? NOW!
If the Republican administration has full control of all the three houses (House of Representatives, House of Senates, and the White House) and fail to pass the laws to regulate the easy access to guns and ban on sales of military weapons style like AR15 that killed the 17 people in recent school gun shooting, and /or other regulatory measures to ensure guns safety control as stated above, it should be concluded that they choose the right to guns versus the right to live; They will be considered that they failed to lead because they choose to give our children the blind eyes and the deaf ears and therefore do not deserve to continue holding the positions or public offices we entrusted them with. They will demand them to be voted out of the public offices, for they are there for personal interests, not public interests, they are for the lobbyists (NRA) and other interest groups not for Second Amendment!
Therefore, because our lives matter, all of us should support our young children by calling our states and national politicians to pass meaningful gun laws, policies and regulations that intend to prevent future school guns shooting tragedy.
