Mothers Against School Shootings?

I was intrigued by Dan Rodricks’ column (“Women must lead on assault-style gun ban; guys can’t do it,” Feb. 17). I know that everyone is against school shootings, but the problem seems “too big” to solve when framed against the Second Amendment and strong feelings about an individual’s right to “bear arms.”

I am not a gun owner but know personally many people who are. Every one of these people would prevent a school shooting if they could.

Dan got me thinking of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Their advocacy had a generational change on how we view drinking and driving. They did not try to solve all automobile deaths. They just vehemently attacked a small segment of this problem successfully.

Maybe we can learn from this strategy with school shootings. Instead of solving death by guns in total, we vehemently attack the “school shooting” segment. What if smart, committed women joined together in a group called Mothers Against School Shootings (MASS). I would support them, as many, many others would. My experience is that nothing worthwhile ever happens quickly on huge issues, but you have to start somewhere.

I have raised four children and now I have two grandchildren. I want them all to be spared the tragedy of a school shooting. My oldest son was on the campus of Virginia Tech on that fateful morning in 2007 and lost a professor to that heartbreak. Three weeks later, I went to his graduation. I saw the pain of students, parents and staff but also saw the incredible outpouring of support from other college students across the country.

An organized group of mothers can do powerful things that could refocus us back to a universal truth. We all love children. Together, we can protect them.