Mountain Lion Echo, 

#MARCHFOROURLIVES was a student led demonstration in support of gun control. Students should not have to be scared to go to school thinking they may be put into a situation with a school shooter. Parents should not have to worry about sending their children to school and risk not seeing them return home at the end of the day.

Gun homicides and non-suicide related shootings took approximately 19,300 lives, a 25% increase since the year of 2019. Seventeen people lost their lives on February 14, 2018 in the Parkland, Florida school shooting. That is also 17 people’s parents you have to tell lost their child on that day. Students used to be excited to come to school and they felt safe and protected,  now most students fear coming to school on the daily while thinking that they may lose their life that day.

I will say I do fear for my life coming to school on the daily, the Altoona School District has gotten many school shooting threats. You never know anything that is going to happen until it comes down to that day, that hour, that minute, that second. A child’s whole life could change in the blink of an eye.

An estimated 4.6 million children in America live in a home where at least one gun is kept loaded and unlocked. EACH DAY 8 children die from gun violence in America. We children are supposed to be kept safe and feel protected,  but these days no children can feel that way. It is disappointing that children have to make a march because they lost close friends or family in a tragedy. School shootings are truly a tragedy and put fear in many people’s eyes for life. Schools are a place for children to learn; they are not a shooting range. I am truly sorry to anyone that has lost a friend or a family member in a shooting that happened in a place they thought they were safe in. Parents need to be more cautious in keeping their guns locked up in a safer area and people need to stop selling guns to kids without knowing what they are going to be used for. The world has become a very scary place with very cruel people.