Enough is Enough!
The Perspective of Two High School Students
Published Sacramento News and Review 2018 in conjunction with The Sacramento March for Our Lives, March 24, 2018
Over 6,000 people took to the streets of downtown Sacramento to support a grass roots student movement for gun safety, March for Our Lives. Today, hundreds of thousands marched and demonstrated in Washington D.C. and across the United States. Sacramento was part of that movement and rallies were held on the steps of the State Capital Building. The horror of the February 14th mass shooting at a high school in Florida has ignited a student created political firestorm and government leaders are feeling its heat.
The demonstration occurred in close time proximity to a police shooting of an unarmed black youth, Stephon Clark. The student protest quickly combined into a Black Lives Matters event.
Sometimes complex issues can be reduced to a simple cry for justice. This protest was clearly not highly funded or put together by a sophisticated political machine. It was an emotionally charged and diverse crowd of every-day people, seeking answers to a rising red tide of mass shootings and impotent government response.
Two students from Bella Vista High School were there. Sky McNurty is 17 years old and a senior. Her friend Olivia Smith is 16 years old and a junior. They feel strongly about gun violence in schools and came to the rally to stand up for what they believe. They were not only passionate but also intelligent and articulate in their views.
“Gun violence affects all students, no matter where you live. We want real change and real action. Instead we get posters at school telling us to run a zig zag line in a shooting. We should not be learning survival techniques instead of preparing for math tests, “said Sky McNurty.
Olivia Smith added: “it’s easier for a student to buy a gun than a pack of cigarettes. It needs to be a lot harder to get a hold of a gun.”
Both students have thought seriously about the need for gun regulation and compared today’s situation to the government response to 911, “when 911 happened, there was a huge government response, regulating airports and buildings, increasing security and limiting where guns could be taken. How is this different?” Sky asked.
Both students felt the core root of the problem was an increase in mental illness and the lack of methods to intervene with troubled students. They felt strongly that increasing school programs for identifying troubled students and empowering the school to intervene is a big part of the solution.
As to arming their teachers, both thought this approach to be a ridiculous idea, with potential for accidental shootings. They also felt that the schools could not afford to properly train their teachers.
“Enough is Enough” Olivia said. “Guns are not the solution to guns.”