In an emotional scene in the 2018 horror movie A Quiet Place, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski talk about how to protect their children from the monsters that have descended on their town. In a moment of exasperation, she asks him, "Who are we if we can't protect them?" U.S. politicians should be asking themselves the same question this week. On May 24, before the U.S. could recover from shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Southern California, an 18-year-old man charged into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 21 people, primarily children. The surviving children's accounts have been harrowing. Countries like New Zealand and Scotland have proven that we can protect children from gun violence. So, who are we if we continue to choose not to?

We've had 27 school shootings this year.
As of May 17th, the Gun Violence Archive had counted that 212 mass shootings have occurred in the U.S. this year. By their definition, a mass shooting involves four or more people being shot or killed, excluding the shooter. Education Week drills down into the statistics and assesses which shootings happen on school premises. According to their data, the shooting in Uvalde was the 27th school shooting this year. Education Week has been tallying K-12 school and school bus shootings since 2018. They add school shootings to their database when a firearm is discharged and someone other than the shooter sustains a bullet wound.

Vote like your child's life depends on it.
The National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, conducted a study on mass shootings from 1966 to 2019. They found that 77% of mass shooters used weapons that had been legally procured. Why is this happening? The New York Times notes that "Republican-controlled state legislatures have enacted laws to undo existing gun regulations that place restrictions on the purchase and carrying of firearms [...]." Missouri is taking that a step further by trying to become a "Second Amendment Sanctuary," free from the federal government's regulations on firearms. Voters have the right to examine laws that impact school safety and to vote for politicians who will represent the best interests of their children.

Drills may not be the best solution.
Since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, many K-12 schools (including the elementary school in Uvalde) across the U.S. have proactively implemented active shooter drills. Everytown For Gun Safety extensively researched the impact and effectiveness of drills. Their findings held that "there is almost no research affirming the value of active shooter drills for preventing school shootings or protecting the school community when shootings do occur." Furthermore, their research showed that "active shooter drills in schools are associated with increases in depression (39%), stress and anxiety (42%), and physiological health problems (23%) overall, including children from as young as five years old up to high schoolers, their parents, and teachers."

Be inspired by New Zealand.

The U.S. can learn from nations like Scotland and New Zealand. Both countries experienced horrific mass shootings and then made immediate policy and societal changes to prevent future occurrences. During Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's visit to the U.S. this week, she appeared on Stephen Colbert's show and described New Zealand's successful approaches to gun safety and gun control.

And then "fight like a mother."

Can the U.S. follow New Zealand's recent lead and implement policies that will help prevent mass shootings? Members of Moms Demand Action believe that we can! You can advocate for substantial policy changes through their organization's local chapters. Check out this recent video of the organization's founder, Shannon Watts, on MSNBC.

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