1. United States
2. Ala.
3. Letter

I am an Alabama parent, and I am heartbroken, furious, and exhausted by gun violence in American schools. The October 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killed three children and a teacher. After decades of school shootings, families are still burying children who should have come home. Whatever action our government has taken, it has not been enough. Parents are legally required to ensure their children receive an education. We should not have to fear that sending them to school means we may never see them alive again. Children should be learning to read and making friends, not practicing how to hide from someone trying to kill them. I hear people say school shootings “don’t happen in the south.” Tell that to families in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed; Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed; and Nashville, Tennessee, where three children and three adults were killed at the Covenant School. These dangers continue. On October 16, a student was found with a loaded gun at Moores Mill Intermediate School here in Alabama. Reporting published October 17 described an elementary student allegedly showing another student a handgun at Williamsburg Christian Academy in Virginia. On October 17, three adults were injured in a shooting at a homecoming gathering in Lucy C. Laney High School’s parking lot in Augusta, Georgia. These incidents had different outcomes, but each underscores the danger of guns reaching school grounds. We should not have to wait for another child to die before demanding prevention. Intercepting a loaded gun deserves recognition and demands answers about how a child obtained it. These incidents have become so frequent that I fear we are growing accustomed to something intolerable. Limited national coverage does not make a community’s suffering less important. We are not okay. I am sick and tired of families living with this fear while elected officials offer condolences, trade blame, and fail to deliver sufficient change. I want a substantive written response identifying the legislation you will introduce or support, the prevention measures you will fund, and the actions you will take within your authority. Address secure firearm storage, children’s access to firearms, intervention when credible threats are reported, and accountability when adults enable dangerous access to weapons. Do not send a form letter expressing sympathy without commitments. Tell me what you will do, when, and how constituents can hold you accountable. If you are unwilling to do this work, retire and make room for a new generation willing to act. Otherwise, do your jobs. Listen to your constituents. Deliver meaningful action. Our children deserve to come home. Protecting them must be a responsibility you act on, not merely a sentiment you express after another shooting.