This morning, 9-year-old Anton cuddled up on the couch and told him to skip school. “What if I stay home and hang out?” he said, half laugh.
“I like hanging out with you the most,” I told him, “but you have to go to school.”
“Well, probably something More like a million dollars! ” He said.
“No, I don’t have a million dollars,” I told him.
After we walked to school, well, I walked.he ran Danced ――I couldn’t get the conversations out of my head. I beg, borrow, or steal a million trillion dollars to keep my kids with me forever.These families in Nashville will somehow survive the rest of their lives without their beloved 9 year old. do you need?
Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, William Kinney, 9, and Hallie Scruggs, 9, were killed yesterday in a school shooting. Covenant School in Nashville (NYTimes gift link). His three adults, Mike Hill, Cynthia Peake, and Katherine Koons, also died.
Firearms are the number one killer of American children and teens, and this makes no sense.It is depressing, infuriating and disappointing to write yet another post About the school shooting. Everyone close to me, anywhere in the country, is furious. Who wants guns over school safety? What is thought process? What is your future course? And are you kidding me?
Here are some things we can do, but the first one is important…
1. Don’t give up. It’s easy to get discouraged, but we need to recognize that change is possible. “Massive political and cultural change happens regularly in this country, but the movement has never happened without friction and we have to work hard to get there,” the lawyer said. is writing Emily Amick“Tell this when people are in a spiral of despair.”
2. Contact Senators and Representatives by Phone or Email About 2 bills.
First, ask them to co-host. Shooting Prevention Law Secretariat (HR1699 / S.951)., which establishes a permanent office to implement a long-term, data-driven national strategy to end gun violence in the United States.
Second, ask them to do all they can. Assault weapon ban (HR698/S.25) is the standard. There is absolutely no reason why an ordinary person should own an assault weapon. With its “astonishing lethality,” the AR-15 was built for combat in 1955 and is now America’s best-selling gun.Because of a purposeful and sustained marketing strategy by the largest gun company. helpful explainer about how it became a powerful political and cultural symbol. (Republican Party leader Barry Moore of Alabama introduced a bill in February declaring the AR-15 “America’s National Gun.”) It’s become a priority,” said Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a supporter of common-sense gun laws.
On the phone, he said, “Hello, my name is NAME. I am a member. I live in CITY and my zip code is ZIPCODE. I strongly encourage you to co-sponsor the Office of Gun Violence and Prevention Act.” I would also like to express my support for the ban on assault weapons.” That’s all! The Rep. Office tallies these calls and it really helps when you get a lot of calls.
So how do you contact members of Congress? Each person has two state senators and one representative based on their zip code. To find a senator, put your status hereTo find a representative, go to Please enter your zip code hereFYI, phone calls are generally more effective than emails. Try calling on weekdays. It’s okay to call after hours. And you want to call both those who agree with you (to thank them and keep pushing them) and those who disagree (to come face to face for change).If you’re a New Yorker, you can call Senator Chuck Schumer here and Senator Kristen Gillibrand here.
3. Post on social media. “Political campaigns are rooted in public support,” lawyer writes Emily Amick“That means every time there is a school shooting, you have to post it on social media. It’s not ‘just’ a virtue signal, but how political change happens.” ’” Posting on Instagram and Facebook, tagging senators and representatives. Tweet to them. Leave a comment on our Instagram post. Snowball those important conversations online.
4. Donate. we support mom demands action (Donation here) and Everytown (Donation here), America’s largest gun violence prevention organization, makes regular donations and encourages people to do the same if they can. Leave other recommendations of where to donate in the comments .
5. Vote, Vote, Vote. The current Republican Party is systematically opposed to serious gun reform and should be voted on. We need to pass common sense gun control laws. Instead, it wrote, “Children are now formally trained to hide, barricade doors, fight and flee.” Zara RahimA friend’s son told me the other day that he doesn’t mind school shooting drills because he’s comfortable in his closet. How come I can’t cry when I hear that?
6. Follow and engage with trusted professionals and organizations. I recommend an epidemiologist Kaitlyn Jetelina Newsletterwhich covers topics such as How to reduce gun violence and What You Can Do Now About FirearmsYou can learn from and volunteer mom demands action; It is here podcast interview with the founder. And no matter where you live, donating blood is another way to help.
What do you think? What do you want to add? Together we can keep moving forward. My heart goes out to the many people affected by gun violence. Take it easy, as Anton recommends on a tough day, “You can take a walk. Just take a normal walk.” XO XO
PS An amazing way to get kids to open up their emotions.
(Photo by David Rothschild/Stocksey.)
