Two years ago, while I was practicing with my tennis team at Hesston College, eighteen people were shot 400 yards away from where I stood.
Since then I have done nothing to prevent gun violence.
Sure, I can rattle off the typical liberal arguments about why we need to restrict gun access to make our country a safer place, but in the wake of the Parkland shooting, there are two specific things I want to talk about: the student movement currently happening and the ban on the CDC’s study of gun violence.
First, if you haven’t watched any of the town hall that CNN hosted last week with Marco Rubio and several survivors from Parkland, you need to. It is incredible to watch a senator look into the eyes of someone younger than us and refuse to answer questions while promising to continue accepting donation money from the NRA. The lengths these high schoolers are willing to go in the hopes of saving the lives of people is more than admirable; it is valorous, and they should be heralded across the country for their strength and witness in the face of tragedy.
The movement that is beginning, the political engagement, the young voices being heard, constitutes something special and has given me a lot of hope in the midst of a crazy situation. Did I ever think that I would be directly affected by a shooting? No. Did these kids? Certainly not. Random violence is just that: random. It is how you respond that demonstrates character. My own inaction in the wake of the shooting in Hesston makes my admiration for these high schoolers even greater.
Secondly, when talking about gun control, there is one fact that drives me absolutely nuts. Since 1996 the CDC has been banned from studying gun violence, at the direct request of the NRA. This is absolutely ludicrous. Choosing to deprive the country of accurate data is a juvenile way to prevent informed discussion. Approaching a topic like gun control without accurate data is always frustrating and prevents neutral ground from forming for personal and political gain.
Repealing this ban on research could allow informed, data-led discussion rather than rival Facebook rants based on opinions. And, if the CDC begins studying gun violence and finds that giving teachers guns improves safety and makes students more able to learn, then great, we can consider it. I certainly don’t think the facts point that way at the moment, but we can not just keep allowing emotion to drive the discussion around guns without considering facts.
We will never end all violence, this is true. But we can easily make a huge difference in our country without fundamentally impinging on the spirit of the Second Amendment. With the fire of young voices in our ears and armed with accurate data rather than gut feelings, we can help make the world a safer place.
