The shooting at Abundant Life Christian School wasn't exactly the most deadly mass shooting we've ever seen. It's not even the most deadly this year. Depending on who you talk to, it's not even a mass shooting.
But it was bad enough. There's no argument in my mind about that.
And it was clearly enough to trigger a renewed push for gun control. In fact, it was the pretext for a group of teens to walk out of class and march on the state capital there in Madison on Friday.
Hundreds of Madison high school students walked out of classes Friday afternoon and marched to the state Capitol building in response to Monday’s shooting at Abundant Life Christian School.
Students from West High School chanted “no more silence, end gun violence” and “books, not bullets” during their nearly three-mile route to the Capitol. East High School and La Follette High School students joined them in front of the building, where speakers called for stronger gun control measures and increased mental health resources in schools.
Many students said they were compelled to speak out because they no longer felt safe going to school. Others said they felt desensitized to gun violence because of school shootings in the past year alone.
“I am fed up with the fact that our peers at (Abundant Life) had to experience this horrifying tragedy and that this event was not even unique but rather part of a nationwide trend,” West High School senior Aharon Shelef said in remarks to the crowd. “I am fed up with the fact that guns are the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in our country, so we can't just go to school or live our lives without worrying if we are next.”
I get it.
I don't think gun control is the answer, but I get it.
Luckily, since the shooting was the catalyst for the march, I can at least rest assured that their proposals have something to do with the shooting itself.
At the protest, students called on lawmakers to enact stronger gun reforms, including stricter background checks for gun owners and restrictions on assault weapons.
Wait..what?
The killer had a couple of handguns, not any so-called assault weapon. She also was only 15, which means she couldn't buy a gun lawfully under existing laws, and since she didn't even look 21, no one sold her a gun in a face-to-face transfer unaware of her age. We may not know how she got the gun, but it's pretty clear it didn't happen through lawful means.
But then again, these kids are doing what gun control advocates of all ages do. They find a horrific situation, then inject their own beliefs into the discussion, pretending that the laws they favor would have done literally anything at all.
It wouldn't have in the most general sense, but these particular proposals are particularly stupid when discussing the Abundant Life shooting. They bear no relation to what we know happened in any way, shape, or form.
I'm not open to gun control of any kind, but I do wish these people would at least make it relevant to the situation rather than trying to twist a horrific event to fit their narrative.
It's absolutely disgusting and yet they preen about like they're the moral ones.
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