As a retired teacher, my heart breaks every time another school shooting kills our children. This nihilistic scourge of death by weapons of war in our neighborhoods has been politicized, with one party looking away every time its collective conscience is needed. It’s time for citizens to demand an oath of child safety from every politician at every level of government before they’re allowed to run for office.
It’s time to stop voting for a politician who sends out Christmas cards in which every family member is brandishing a weapon of war, or protest the ones already in Congress who wear AR-15 lapel pins, or use the billboards and newspaper ads in your town to run the quote of your Representative in D.C. who said that these shooting deaths are an unfortunate result of our freedom.
Finally, check your state’s rules about recall, referendum, and initiative to see if they allow you to remove a state or local politician from office who doesn’t care that guns are now the leading cause of the deaths of our children. Even consider creating a state or national movement to add an amendment to a constitution that would allow the recall of any politician who disregards your pleas for the safe futures of our children and our democracy.
Bonnie Hardaway, retired journalism/history teacher Tyler, TX 903.504.5123