Bella Luna, the author, is in the middle. She is 2-years-old and innocent. For now.
(Today’s piece is a guest editorial by an 18-year-old friend of mine. She tells a harrowing story that no one my age has ever lived. If it moves you, please leave a comment for her.)
My sister was born 2 months after 9/11 and 2 years after the 1999 Columbine shooting, I came along 18 months later, we were the first generation to learn about these as history. First to have regular lockdowns, lock out, and active shooter drills, this was scary growing up. Never knowing if it was real or fake until the door handle rattles and everyone’s stomach drops and chills sent through our spines. At that moment, you wait. You text your mom and dad that you love them because you don’t know if you’ll ever see them again. You text your friends to make sure they aren’t locked in the halls or bathrooms, to make sure they survive. and when the door opens you expect either bullets flying, the principal, or the police.
27 school shootings since 2022. 945 school shootings since Columbine. Making the risk high. Too high. I have been to 6 high schools each with gun problems. I’ve sent my mom a text thinking it would be the last countless times. I held a scared stranger’s hand out of fear too many times. Yet this isn’t alarming to lawmakers. It’s only a problem once the bodies drop.
This made going to school terrifying. One day I was walking to the park and saw a student place a gun under an electrical box. I said nothing. Like I didn’t see it. Once he left, I had my friend stay to watch it in case he came back. And I ran. On my way back into the school I saw him leave going back for it. I had never run faster in my entire life. I was flying thru the halls with a face drenched in panic. Everyone knew something was wrong. The only adult I could find was the father of the boy who was sitting waiting for me to get help while the other boy was on his way back. At that moment I told his father his son was with watching over a gun in the park, and the bell rang. The father’s face dropped. And all I could think of was how many people were in these halls and what if I was too late.
I ran back to the park with security and we were just in time. I swear I squeezed my friend so hard I couldn’t breathe. The gunman was expelled with no charges. And I was called a snitch for the rest of the year. I was only 15. I had my life flash before my eyes before I even got to live it. Never had a first kiss or felt love. And I thought I’d never get to. Why is gun control only a problem when it’s too late? Why are people only scared when it’s happening? This is because of how accessible guns are to children.
“Sit still, be quiet.”
During drills, you are taught to be nonexistent in the room. Don’t move, don’t fight, don’t speak. But when will we be taught to fight for our safety and not back down till we have it? We are children. We deserve life. No 4th grader should watch their friends die in front of them. No child should have the right to bear arms. Age doesn’t define maturity. Lawmakers do. They decided you can’t smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol until 21 because teenagers are too immature to handle drugs responsibly. Women can’t get abortions while grown because it’s unlawful but at 18, a child can buy a weapon with everyone else’s life in their hands. According to Google, out of 100,000 women, .07% have died over abortion, while more than 311,000 died from school shootings since 2000. Now it’s time to make a change. It’s long overdue.
I was scared of guns growing up. Terrified. But I’m not scared of them anymore. I’m scared of the people proudly distributing them to the lonely and disenfranchised, and the lawmakers who find this acceptable.
Bella Luna is an 18-year-old girl who grew up with Covid, Active Shooter Drills, and Fear. She deserved better. Please leave her a message and thank her if you appreciate her perspective.
Thank you Bella Luna.
Wish I had wise, healing things to say right now, Bella Luna. All I got is that I hear/see you and feel overwhelmed as well.