The year 1999 was a tough one for me. I was a freshman at Columbine High School, sitting in science class, when the shooting occurred. I was trapped in the school for four hours until SWAT teams escorted us out. Once I was in a safe place, I learned that my sister had been critically shot multiple times in her chest and side. She survived, but she is paralyzed.
In October 1999, my mom took her own life with a firearm. This tragedy could have been prevented if red flag laws had existed back then — but they didn’t. Just four months later, two of my classmates were murdered at a Subway restaurant down the street from Columbine, and that case remains unresolved.
Since my freshman year of high school, countless acts of gun violence have occurred and the crisis continues to grow. Laws, education and accountability are the only measures that can mitigate and reduce these recurring events. “Thoughts and prayers,” “good guys with guns,” and other fallacies are doing nothing to address the problem. Our public officials have a responsibility to protect their citizens, and they must be held accountable for both their actions and their inactions.