Two Times More Than It Should Be
By: Mira
“I never thought it would happen to me.” These spilled out of almost every survivor’s mouth after living through a mass shooting. Words that we hear and don’t think much about, even though these words have much more meaning than we think.
If you asked me ten years ago, I wouldn’t have even begun to write this article. Since 2009, there have been 284 mass shootings in the United States, resulting in 1599 innocent lives lost and 1050 unique lives changed forever as a result of gunshot wounds. These numbers are astounding and staggering, but at this point, shootings are sadly not a shock.
Two times in my life-two times, I have been in a situation where I have personally feared for my life due to an active shooter warning. Why does the thought even come into our head?
The first time, when I was just in elementary school, I attended a music summer camp known as Camp Levine where the outdoor games in the hot summer sun were halted due to an overhead speaker announcement repeating: “Reports of an active shooter. Get inside and lock all doors immediately.” I still remember being locked inside a dark room for hours while we waited to hear the news. Luckily, this was just a false alarm.
But this wasn’t the only time. Just a few months ago, I attended the March for Our Lives: March on Washington. A man became rambunctious sending the crowd into panic. People at the front of the march began to run away, and since there were thousands of people in front of the monument at the time, the message that everyone was safe did not translate to the back of the gathering. Instead, when others and I saw the crowd in front of us duck, everyone immediately fell to the ground: parents lying on top of their children, friends hugging each other for support, tears streaming down protesters’ faces. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.
Two times to fear a shooter is two times too many. It’s not something that I would like to say, but I strongly believe that if gun laws in America do not change, every American will experience a situation like I have sometime in their lifetime. And though I never wish that experience upon anyone, maybe by living through something like this, people will gain perspective of why gun laws in America must change.
