Charlotte Young Bowens
Staff Writer
America has an issue with gun violence, #fact.
And after all these years, we’ve finally awakened to the seriousness of the issue. But it took more dead bodies in a public school before we collectively started to pay serious attention to the issue of gun violence in this county.
The national response to the activism spurred from Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida has prompted more reaction to gun violence than seen in years. It looks like the creation of gun control laws to reduce senseless acts of gun violence in our nation just might happen.
But honestly, I’m a little suspicious. Truth is we’ve had a problem with gun violence for many, many years. And I’m taken aback by this recent and heightened response or attention being given to the issue.
On one hand, I’m feel hopeful that gun-control laws will finally be enacted. On the other hand, I’m concerned about who will actually benefit from these potential changes. I get the feeling that urban communities will continue to suffer from gun violence resulting in little to no change for people of color.
I wasn’t the only one thinking this way. I stumbled on a tweet by writer Roxanne Gay who reflected on the issue similarly. She more eloquently pointed out the recent support for the movement against gun violence as a double standard because when black and brown youth protested years ago, there was no support.
Gay had this to say on Twitter, “It is interesting to note the difference in support for the kids in FL versus the kids in Black Lives Matter. I say that with full admiration for the kids in FL, to survive such a trauma and fight for everyone to be safer. But that’s also what was happening in Ferguson and beyond.”
When all is said and done, which lives will new gun control laws really save?
There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to make this about race, but the stark difference has me caught in a state of emotional distress when I should be happy that more people are finally waking up and willing to do something about the issue of gun violence.
I’m deeply concerned and struggling with the years of silence white America clung to when it came to matters like gun violence, that affects disproportionately more black and brown or poor people. Yet gun violence has touched the lives of just about every citizen.
I fully support March for Our Lives, the organized national response to end gun violence and mass shootings in our schools. Activist and community members planned to take to the streets of Washington and other cities on Saturday, March 24.
Organizers are demanding that their lives and safety become a priority. But which lives and whose safety will be prioritized?
All I want is for all American lives to be prioritized. I want all Americans to feel safe in their communities. And I want all our lives to matter because we all deserve and have the right to be free from the recklessness of gun violence.
