One year after the Parkland shooting, a successful amount of change has occurred, but the progress will slow if we allow ourselves to become too comfortable.
On Feb. 14, 2018, the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was a devastating event that left 17 students and staff members dead and 17 others injured.
Since then, the U.S. has seen a school shooting on average every 12 days for the last year, according to CNN.
In 2019 though, the shooting and the survivors’ fight for gun control are nearly a forgotten memory for many.
Everyone who pushed for gun control has grown quieter as the news cycle has moved on to other issues.
Sixty-seven bills were passed by multiple states in 2018 to limit gun violence, according to a year-end report by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Will 2018 be an anomaly or is it something that the youth of the modern era can ensure happens every year?
If it truly was mostly due to the increased level of support thanks to the Parkland survivors, then the number may only go down.
Without someone constantly rallying together, the public perception could drop and lose the following and fervor it once had.
President Trump’s current efforts to create a wall has taken over the news with his recent declaration of a national emergency in order to gain the funding.
But ongoing controversy shouldn’t make us forget about previous issues.
When the discussion comes to school shootings, the important conversations about mental health and gun safety are hijacked by topics of the Second Amendment and only serve to dilute the importance of the issue.
Even with the constant distractions, the conversations had in the last year have proven to be a huge success.
Although mass shootings still happen, the topics of conversation have evolved.
Younger students appear to be more confident about sharing their thoughts.
It may seem disheartening to see the large number of shootings and feel defeated, but those numbers shouldn’t weaken the drive for security.
The amount of people who advocated in support of gun control and fought for the right to keep students safe within the confines of their own schools was driven, in large part, by the survivors of the Parkland shooting.
While success of the Parkland survivors proves a vocal minority can make change, there doesn’t need to be a face for the issue everyone is fighting for.
There won’t always be a person or group as the face of an issue.
Without someone calling for the support, it may seem fruitless to try and fight for a cause that isn’t at the forefront.
There is always more we can do to increase the awareness than just watch the posts pass by on newsfeeds and TV.
Addressing the issues that impact the lives of future students is always a beneficial action.
It doesn’t take a lot of hard work to do something that can change the future.
Any way that someone can bring issues out of the dark and into the eyes of those can change the future, is a supporter the future needs.
Sharing, communicating and posting about the efforts being made now are just a start to what will frame this discussion and how our society is when we look back on this another year from now.
