What do all of the following dates have in common? April 20, 1999 May 20, 1999 November 19, 1999 December 6, 1999 February 29, 2000 May 26, 2000 June 28, 2000 August 28, 2000 September 26, 2000 December 1, 2000 March 5, 2001 March 7, 2001 May 16, 2001 March 22, 2001 March 30, 2001 January 15, 2002 January 16, 2002 February 20, 2002 October 7, 2002 October 28, 2002 October 29, 2002 April 14, 2003 April 24, 2003 May 9, 2003 September 24, 2003 February 2, 2004 February 9, 2004 May 7, 2004 March 2, 2005 March 21, 2005 September 13, 2005 November 8, 2005 February 23, 2006 March 14, 2006 August 24, 2006 August 30, 2006 September 2, 2006 September 17, 2006 September 27, 2006 September 29, 2006 October 2, 2006 October 9, 2006 January 3, 2007 March 7, 2007 April 16, 2007 September 21, 2007 October 10, 2007 January 23, 2008 February 4, 2008 February 8, 2008 February 11, 2008 February 11, 2008 February 12, 2008 February 14, 2008 February 27, 2008 August 14, 2008 August 21, 2008 September 2, 2008 October 16, 2008 October 26, 2008 November 12, 2008 January 9, 2009 April 26, 2009 May 18, 2009 May 18, 2009 June 16, 2009 September 3, 2009 February 5, 2010 February 12, 2010 February 19, 2010 February 23, 2010 March 9, 2010 May 11, 2010 September 8, 2010 September 28, 2010 October 1, 2010 October 8, 2010 November 29, 2010 December 6, 2010 January 5, 2011 March 25, 2011 March 31, 2011 May 23, 2011 August 19, 2011 October 24, 2011 December 8, 2011 December 9, 2011 January 10, 2012 February 27, 2012 March 6, 2012 August 16, 2012 August 27, 2012 September 7, 2012 October 19, 2012 October 31, 2012 December 14, 2012 January 10, 2013 January 12, 2013 January 15, 2013 January 15, 2013 January 16, 2013 January 22, 2013 January 31, 2013 January 31, 2013 March 18, 2013 April 12, 2013 April 16, 2013 April 18, 2013 May 14, 2013 June 7, 2013 August 20, 2013 August 23, 2013 August 30, 2013 October 4, 2013 October 21, 2013 November 2, 2013 November 3, 2013 November 13, 2013 December 4, 2013 December 13, 2013 December 19, 2013 January 9, 2014 January 13, 2014 January 14, 2014 January 17, 2014 January 20, 2014 January 21, 2014 January 24, 2014 January 25, 2014 January 27, 2014 January 28, 2014 January 30, 2014 January 31, 2014 February 10, 2014 February 10, 2014 February 12, 2014 February 22, 2014 March 25, 2014 April 11, 2014 May 4, 2014 May 5, 2014 May 8, 2014 May 14, 2014 June 5, 2014 June 10, 2014 September 9, 2014 September 11, 2014 September 27, 2014 September 30, 2014 September 30, 2014 October 3, 2014 October 24, 2014 November 20, 2014 November 20, 2014 December 12, 2014 January 15, 2015 January 16, 2015 February 4, 2015 February 14, 2015 February 23, 2015 March 30, 2015 April 13, 2015 April 16, 2015 April 27, 2015 May 12, 2015 May 24, 2015 August 27, 2015 September 3, 2015 September 14, 2015 September 30, 2015 October 1, 2015 October 9, 2015 October 9, 2015 October 22, 2015 November 1, 2015 November 20, 2015 January 22, 2016 January 29, 2016 February 9, 2016 February 12, 2016 February 29, 2016 April 23, 2016 June 1, 2016 June 8, 2016 September 9, 2016 September 28, 2016 October 11, 2016 October 13, 2016 October 18, 2016 October 25, 2016 December 1, 2016 January 20, 2017 January 20, 2017 January 27, 2017 March 21, 2017 April 10, 2017 May 4, 2017 September 13, 2017 September 20, 2017 November 13, 2017 November 14, 2017 December 7, 2017 January 10, 2018 January 20, 2018 January 22, 2018 January 22, 2018 January 23, 2018 January 25, 2018 January 31, 2018 February 1, 2018 February 5, 2018 February 9, 2018 February 14, 2018 February 24, 2018 February 27, 2018 February 27, 2018 March 2, 2018 March 7, 2018 March 7, 2018 March 8, 2018 March 9, 2018 March 13, 2018 March 14, 2018 March 20, 2018 April 12, 2018 April 20, 2018 May 11, 2018 May 16, 2018 May 18, 2018 May 18, 2018 May 25, 2018 August 17, 2018 August 20, 2018 August 30, 2018 September 5, 2018 September 10, 2018 September 11, 2018 October 29, 2018 December 13, 2018 January 25, 2019 February 8, 2019 February 12, 2019 February 14, 2019 March 22, 2019 April 1, 2019 April 25, 2019 April 25, 2019 April 30, 2019 May 6, 2019 May 7, 2019 May 7, 2019

On each one of these dates, a school shooting has occurred in the United States, since Columbine on April 20th, 1999. Some of which have found their place among the most impactful and terrifying events in history, Virginia Tech on April 16th, 2007, Sandy Hook on December 14th, 2012, and Parkland on February 14th 2018. My question is: How many people have to die before the seemingly constant the claims of “never again” actually mean something?

304 people in the U.S. have been killed in school shootings since April 20th, 1999 and 488 have been injured. The worst part about this is the fact that 1999 was a mere 20 years ago, and yet, people have been, and are being, killed in such an abundance.

In my opinion, one of the other big problems with “infamous” murders is that most everyone knows the name of the assailant(s): Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, for example, yet how many of the victims can you name? Not even one of the people killed in the Columbine shooting? Cassie Bernal, Steve Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matt Kechter, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Rachel Scott, Isaiah Shoels, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Velasquez, and Coach Dave Sanders. Not only is it sad that victims names are being forgotten and murderers are being romanticised to the point where there are those who fantasise about being the next Dylan or Eric, but without stricter gun laws things like this will continue to happen. Children should not have to go to school in fear, and parents shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not their child will be returning home safely.

The sanctity of learning should not be disrupted by constant gunfire, and the only way to solve this problem is by using your voice, and your vote as a United States citizen, to ensure that gun violence is put to a stop, especially when it is invading the classrooms of our children.

If we want something to be done about this, we’re going to have to do it ourselves. This isn’t just a problem. This has reached epidemic proportions, and according to the current trends, it’s only going to get worse. Since I began writing this, I’ve had to add 7 dates to the list. That is ridiculous.

“A ban on semiautomatic military-style assault rifles and large-capacity magazines was passed in 1994. It was lifted in 2004. Experts said lifting the ban helped to usher in a new era of mass shootings. With these weapons, individuals could shoot faster and for longer periods of time – and consequently were able to kill more people in their attacks,” stated Tara McKelvey, a White House reporter from BBC news.

The United States has more gun-related deaths than most of the world, and that is more than just a problem that can be swept away under the rug. Not only can you make a difference, but you can make those around you aware of this epidemic. Things are only going to get worse until everybody recognises how huge of a problem this is and does something about it.