The views expressed in this personal essay are solely the author's, and while we celebrate individuals’ rights to express themselves, these views do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this website or its affiliates.
Here's something you might not know. When you type "list of school shootings in the United States" and click Wikipedia, you'll get two options:
List of school shootings in the United States may refer to:
List of school shootings in the United States (before 2000)
List of school shootings in the United States (2000–present)
Why? There have been so many school shootings in the United States that we have to break it down into a timeline, because otherwise, how would we ever keep it straight? I imagine soon that list will be broken down into decades, then probably five-year spans, then, I don't know, just a list for every year of the 2000s.
Aren't you mad? Aren't you sick of this? Aren't you scared out of your mind to let your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends' kids, the nice kid down the street who always wants to stop and pet your dog, that cute kid who told you they liked your shoes one day, or just any kid on this planet go to school? Aren't you disgusted that we have to even worry about how safe kids are at school in the first place?
December 11, 2012, is a day forever burned into my mind. When I say forever, I mean for-ev-er, Sandlot style. It's not going anywhere. My kid had a doctor's appointment that day, and somehow we missed it. I can't explain to you how unlike me this is — it's 100% out of character. I remember feeling jumpy that day; I remember when I picked up the turquoise sweater I wore that I had this flash of someone getting shot; I remember throwing the sweater away when we finally got back home.
I remember we went to the mall, which was also entirely out of character at the time. I needed to write; I planned to work at Barnes and Noble on one end, and my ex took our then 3-year-old to the other end to play on the little foam structure. The food court was in the middle of the mall.
I was still jumpy, still agitated. I sat down for about a minute and decided to go watch my kid play instead. I crossed the food court as a 22-year-old was entering the mall through Macy's armed with an AR-15 he'd stolen from a friend.
More from LittleThings: Another Tragic School Shooting Leaves At Least 6 People Dead In Nashville, Tennessee
I sat down. I heard the pops. I didn't think. I grabbed my kid's legs out of a slide, I threw him across my chest, I saw the face of a terrified dad, I ran. I ran through JCPenny like it was muscle memory, like I just knew where to go. I made it to the parking lot, I looked for help, and a woman picked us up. Her young daughter was in the car when I just started babbling, "There's a gun, there's a gun." Her daughter asked what was wrong. Her mom and I stared at each other. She dropped us off at the hotel across the street.
Three days later, 26 people died at Sandy Hook Elementary school.
So many people have died in mass shootings in this country that I don't even know what the number is close to. It feels enormously huge. It feels catastrophic. It feels scary. I worry about my child every day on this planet. I worry about your children, too.
Six people died on March 27, 2023, at yet another school shooting in the United States. Three children, three adults. Unlike previous school shootings, which have exclusively been perpetrated by young men, conservative politicians began asking the most bizarre questions.
US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene actually asked this: "How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking? Everyone can stop blaming guns now."
I have been looking at that question off and on ever since she typed it, and I still don't know exactly what to say. I don't know the science, but I'm willing to bet money that every young adult male who has killed children in school shootings had a heck of a lot more testosterone coursing through their body. If Marjorie wants to be willfully ignorant, hateful, and flat-out stupid, then that is her prerogative, but turning the deaths of six people into an anti-trans rallying cry goes beyond appalling, especially in this climate. Especially when it's only March and who knows how many more of these shootings we will see IN JUST THIS YEAR.
You know how easy it is to get a gun in Tennessee? F***ing easy. Here are some facts, courtesy of the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee:
- Tennessee does not require a permit to carry a firearm, whether openly or concealed. If you want to carry a gun openly or concealed in public in Tennessee, you don't need a permit. As of July 1, 2021, Tennessee is a permit-less carry state.
- While a permit is not required to purchase a firearm, any person wanting to obtain a handgun must present the licensed dealer with current identification and other information, including make, model, caliber, and manufacturer’s number of the firearm being transferred, so that the dealer can fill out the forms for a background check.
- There is no state permit requirement for the possession of rifles, shotguns, or handguns.
Here's another fun fact: "Anyone eligible who’s at least 18 can walk into a gun store and purchase a shotgun or rifle — like the popular AR-15." But you know what's harder to get? Handguns. Revolvers. You know how many shots those usually have? Six. The AR-15? Rounds and rounds and rounds of bullets.
Make it make sense.
I would like to melt down every single gun in this country. At the very least, I would like to require 12-month-long classes before you can buy ANY gun. You want to hunt and provide for your family? Cool, do that, but get educated. And gun people, don't act like this is what most of you are doing — I don't have numbers on me, but I bet most gun owners are still shopping at the grocery store.
Scared someone is going to break into your home? I can get that. But do you really need to be able to fire rounds and rounds and rounds to stop one person or two people? Do you REALLY, or do you just want to use that as an excuse? Because from where I'm standing, truly living off the land 100% aside, there's no reason to have guns like this. The actual cost of LIVES CUT SHORT is too high.
We see it all the time: Your right to own a gun ends at my right to BE ALIVE.
Of course, I'm just another mom writing another rant because she's sick and scared and worried about her child, about your child, about teachers and counselors and secretaries and principals. About going to the movies. About going to the mall. About someone walking through the subway station with a backpack on. About backpacks period.
We can't keep saying we are so tired without doing something about it. You can't pray away a nation's gun fanaticism. You can't think away selfishness. You can't unbreak a broken country that cares more about owning pieces of metal than keeping everyone alive.
1999: Cassie Bernall, 17; Steven Curnow, 14; Corey DePooter, 17; Kelly Fleming, 16; Matthew Kechter, 16; Daniel Mauser, 15; Daniel Rohrbough, 15; William "Dave" Sanders, 47; Rachel Scott, 17; Isaiah Shoels, 18; John Tomlin, 16; Lauren Townsend, 18; and Kyle Velasquez, 16.
2006: Naomi Rose Ebersol, 7; Marian Stoltzfus Fisher, 13; Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12; Lena Zook Miller, 8; and Mary Liz Miller, 7.
2021: Madiyson Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 17; and Hana St. Juliana, 14.
2023: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old; Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.
2012: Charlotte Bacon, 6; Daniel Barden, 7; Olivia Engel, 6; Josephine Gay, 7; Dylan Hockley, 6; Madeleine Hsu, 6; Catherine Hubbard, 6; Chase Kowalski, 7; Jesse Lewis, 6; Ana Márquez-Greene, 6; James Mattioli, 6; Grace McDonnell, 7; Emilie Parker, 6; Jack Pinto, 6; Noah Pozner, 6; Caroline Previdi, 6; Jessica Rekos, 6; Avielle Richman, 6; Benjamin Wheeler, 6; Allison Wyatt, 6; Rachel D'Avino, 29; behavior therapist Dawn Hochsprung, 47; principal Anne Marie Murphy, 52; special education teacher Lauren Rousseau, 30; teacher Mary Sherlach, 56; and school psychologist Victoria Leigh Soto, 27.
2022: Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo, 10; Jacklyn Cazares, 9; Makenna Lee Elrod, 10; Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10; Eliahna Garcia, 9; Irma Garcia, 48; Uziyah Garcia, 10; Amerie Jo Garza, 10; Xavier Lopez, 10; Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10; Tess Mata, 10; Maranda Mathis, 11; Eva Mireles, 44; Alithia Ramirez, 10; Annabell Rodriguez, 10; Maite Rodriguez, 10; Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, 10; Layla Salazar, 11; Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10; Eliahna Torres, 10; and Rojelio Torres, 10.
The saddest part about this list? It's not even close to including everyone.
Seriously, America. Stop with the bullsh*t.
