On Monday, March 28, 2023, a shooter killed three students and three staff members at a Pre-K through 6th-grade private Christian school in Nashville, TN.

The police identified the victims as three 9-year-old children Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, and a substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; school headmaster Katherine Koonce, 60; and school custodian Mike Hill, 61.

The Covenant School shooting

The shooter has been identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a former student of The Covenant School and employed graphic designer. 

The assailant was very familiar with the layout of the school and even possessed a detailed map to better plan her attack.

Hale shot the glass doors, allowing her to enter the building and she proceeded to shoot at students for eleven minutes before the police shot her just four minutes after a 911 call was placed.

Hale was armed with three weapons, two AR-15 rifles, and a handgun, two of which had been purchased legally.

While searching her home, the police found an additional four weapons that were hidden and purchased from five separate dealers.

Even though she had a record of having mental struggles and her parents were against her owning a gun, she still managed to get her hands on one.

Civilians should not have access to AR-15 rifles that are intended to assault people, not protect their safety.

Shooters have targeted everything from school campuses to gas stations, there is no method to their madness. 

Mass shootings like this one in Nashville are not once in a blue moon in the United States, but rather so frequent that gun control laws should be strengthened. 

Enough is enough

In 2023 alone there have been over 120 mass shootings and it’s only March.

How many more children have to be brutally murdered for lawmakers to realize that it’s time to take action?

When will the issues at hand regarding gun violence stop being overlooked?

Just a couple of weeks before, Tennessee governor, Bill Lee passed a bill declaring drag shows a felony, but he can’t make our country a secure place for parents to send their children to school without any doubts concerning safety.

Last time I checked, drag performers weren’t endangering the lives of elementary school children.

Tennesse is reported as the state with the tenth most gun deaths in America due to its weak gun laws issued by the government.

There are no laws in Tennessee that require an owner to secure their weapon in a safe place, concealed carry permit, complete safety training, or get a background check.

My earliest memories of school are nothing but happy memories of learning my fundamentals and making new friends, but these children of the younger generations have a tainted view of how school should be.

Schools should never stray away from cultivating our minds to be great and collaborating with our peers.

School should never become a place where you fear for your own life.

After a mass shooting, there is always an outpour of love and prayers in the media, the victims’ lives are honored, and then it becomes just another time a tragedy happened.

Instead of continuing the cycle, let’s work together to end gun violence so no other child’s life is threatened by the ownership of a gun. 

Guns don’t protect 

According to Everytown Research & Policy, firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in America. 

The rate of gun violence in America has skyrocketed in recent years because many states don’t put essential gun safety policies to protect their people.

Twenty-nine states follow the No Shoot First Law which is not synonymous with self-defense and actually condones violence when the situation can be resolved by simply walking away.

Since the vast majority of our country, has not yet denounced this policy, it leads to additional gun deaths.

I think the main issue is that guns are made too accessible to the youth.

Instead of contributing to the problem, let’s take preventative measures to help prevent further damage. 

There should be medical clearance, mental health evaluations, and background checks to acquire a purchase permit for a gun.

New laws need to be established to create a positive impact and make steps in the right direction.

Parents should no longer be afraid to send their children to school.

We should not be afraid once we leave our houses in the morning, that we may never return.

We should not live in fear but instead use our voices to call on lawmakers to take action to prevent further gun violence and put laws into effect in all 50 states that work towards that goal.

Information courtesy of ABC, CNN, Everytown Research & Policy, Fox News, and NPR