The Time to Act

Medical personnel tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

By KaKi McKinney, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

We see “Breaking news: Active school shooting” and we quickly check our phones to see if our kids have texted or called us.  We check the news to see where the shooting is taking place…some other state.  We go back to our regularly scheduled day.

You know who does not react this way?  The parents of the children at the school and the parents and students who have survived and buried their friends and children from the past school shootings.

This is the 18th school shooting in 2018.  It is the 180th mass shooting since 2009 and at least the 3rd mass shooting in 2018.  Parkland is the second deadliest school shooting since December 14, 2012 when 20 students and 6 educators were killed.

Once again it is “too late”, not “too soon” to talk about gun sense for the people in Parkland, Florida.  The video of the student who said, “We are kids, you are the adults, why don’t you make a change?” should bring every adult to action.

When a person is in crisis, loved ones and law enforcement are often the first to see signs that they pose a threat. Red Flag Laws allow them to seek help from a court to remove guns from dangerous situations. If a court finds that a person poses a significant danger of injuring themselves or others with a firearm, that person is temporarily prohibited from purchasing and possessing guns and required to turn over their guns while the order is in effect.  If only Florida had had that law.  We do not have this law in North Carolina.

It is time for more than “thoughts and prayers”.  It is time to ACT!   We must demand our lawmakers do more to end this gun violence crisis.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has been addressing this issue since 2012 after the Sandy Hook shooting.  Stop saying “someone should do something”, and text “ACT” to 644-33 to get involved in your local Moms Demand Action group.