This is an article from the June 2025 Civitas Examiner (Volume 2, No. 3) and was written by one of our students, Charles G. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue. To read more Civitas Examiner stories or to submit your own, click here.
Every administration makes difficult decisions, some more controversial than others. But now, more than ever, it’s hard to understand why the federal government is spending so much time and energy focusing on immigration enforcement while ignoring something much more urgent. Students across America are scared to go to school because they do not know if they will come home.
Each morning, as I step through the school doors, a heavy question haunts me: What if today is the day someone brings a gun?
That is not an exaggeration. That is reality for me and many others.
This is not irrational. It is not dramatic. It is based on facts.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 327 school shootings during the 2021–22 school year. That is the highest number ever recorded. These shootings resulted in 81 deaths and 269 injuries. Since 2000, more than 1,300 school shootings have occurred in K-12 schools across the United States.
And yet, when I turn on the news or scroll through social media, I hear more about the government’s efforts to remove undocumented immigrants than about efforts to protect the children already here. Politicians continue to argue about the border while children are afraid to sit in classrooms.
I have participated in lockdown drills. I have practiced throwing objects and barricading doors. I have been told how to hide and how to stay silent. I have imagined using my friend’s body to shield my own. That should not be normal, but it is for me and millions of others.
In an interview with Reid Flynn, a former student of Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, who experienced a school shooting firsthand, he shared, “I’m not against gun ownership in all situations, but what bothers me is that the shooter, Orlando Harris, had told a psychiatrist that he had thought of committing a shooting at his former high school, and his family had asked the police to remove firearms from his house. It doesn’t seem like it is a high standard for politicians to think that they should prevent someone who obviously poses a danger and is in need of help from owning firearms.”
Instead of focusing on real threats to student safety, lawmakers pass legislation that does little more than perform. They fight to ban books. They debate whether students should learn about gender identity or racism. They push to hang the Ten Commandments in classrooms. But none of these things will stop a gunman.
The Ten Commandments will not stop a bullet. Book bans will not protect me during an active shooter situation. And no amount of curriculum censorship will shield me from real violence.
So I have to ask: Why is it easier to remove an immigrant from their home than to remove a weapon of war from a school?
Meanwhile, gun reform has effectively stalled: nearly 90 percent of Americans, including a strong majority of gun owners, support universal background checks, yet Congress hasn’t even voted on S.529 or H.R. 8, the bipartisan bills introduced this session to close loopholes. At the same time, politicians, including those personally affected by shootings, dismiss gun safety proposals as “too complex” or “too controversial.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R‑MO) voted against S.529 and defended tech-driven immigration bans; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R‑GA) co-sponsored anti‑trans education bills while blocking red‑flag legislation; and Rep. Andy Ogles (R‑TN), after the Covenant School massacre, sent Christmas cards featuring assault‑style rifles and pushed for arming teachers instead of supporting common‑sense reforms. Yet these same lawmakers move swiftly on issues like restricting reproductive rights or censoring school curricula.
I am a student. I am a citizen. I live here. I may not be able to vote, but I am part of the community that elected officials claim to serve. I deserve safety. I deserve to learn without fear — So do the students beside me and the ones who come after us.
Gun violence is not a partisan issue. It affects children in every region, of every race, in every political district. It affects students regardless of whether they are liberal or conservative, religious or non-religious, black or white, born here or elsewhere. The fear we live with knows no political party.
I am tired of waiting. I am tired of watching lawmakers protect their donors instead of protecting their children. I am tired of the silence, the excuses, and the empty promises.
We need real change. We need real leadership. We need action that values life over politics.
Because the truth is simple.
Thoughts and prayers are not enough.
The Ten Commandments do not stop school shootings.
And no child should have to wonder whether they will survive the school day. Until that changes, do not ask me why I am scared.
Ask yourself why you are not.
