How to change gun laws? The power of the vote

To the Times: In light of the recent horrific Parkland, Fla, school shooting, once again Americans are faced with the stark reality of gun violence happening in a place that should be among the safest for our children: their schools.

The shooting by a disturbed young man with an AR-15 is just the latest mass atrocity involving guns in school, as there have been 18 shootings this young year, and more than 200 since Sandy Hook in 2012! Nowhere else in the developed world is there this kind of carnage. What is to be done? Do we have to accept the need for making our schools into secured fortresses with metal detectors, and armed guards? Do we need to put more dollars into identifying emotionally challenged children? Do we arm teachers and administrators, as we surely will hear calls for from the gun rights side. Should we ban the semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15, which caused so much bloodshed in such a short amount of time in Newtown, Aurora, Parkland and Las Vegas? All of these ideas and more need consideration, but more than that, they need action! How can any responsible school teacher or administrator not think about the next school shooting, which is surely coming.

Many school districts have spent a vast amount of time and money fortifying their schools, as communicated by Dr. James Scanlon, Superintendent of West Chester Area Schools in a recent news article. It is truly impressive, and disturbing what schools have to do to create a sense of security today. Parkland School practiced many of the same safety measures, including a drill on the same day of the shooting, to no avail.

I submit that while we need to do everything we can with our schools to protect children, the crux of the problem is that we live in a society where it is too easy to get a gun. And the reality is that with the current makeup of Congress, nothing at a national level will change. For those politicians who feel it is more important to protect gun rights and the Second Amendment than it is their children and grandchildren, or to protect their current status collecting money from the NRA, shame on them! Real change will happen when we give these politicians the boot, and vote into power courageous legislators unafraid of the NRA, willing to plug the many gaps in our system that enabled a troubled young man to fantasize about becoming a famous school shooter, acquiring an arsenal of deadly weapons, and then making his fantasy into a terrible reality. The aftermath of Parkland is depressingly familiar, as we see the agony and grief of families trying to make sense of the senseless.

But it feels different – there is a wave of anger in the survivors and families of the victims that is palpable – demanding their government do something now! If we want to truly make progressive change in terms of reducing gun violence, we all need to get angry, and hold onto this anger through the next election. Make sure you vote, and that the person who gets your vote will protect our children, and not the gun industry. For only when we have elected officials truly committed to gun safety will we see real change.

“The crux of the problem is that we live in a society where it is too easy to get a gun.” — Tom Buglio