Graffagnino: Where is our outrage about school shootings?

I was surprised at the responses created by my initial Opinion, titled “What role does money play in mass shootings?” Two more recent shootings, in Florida and at the University of Nevada, have prompted me to write once again. Let’s look at this issue from a more personal perspective.

You send your children to school. Some walk to school. Others get rides from either a parent or by school bus. They are going to school to learn. Something happens. A shooting. It can happen at any level of education, kindergarten through college. Shots are fired. People run for their lives. Children of all different ages are killed. Sometimes, staff members of the schools in question are also victims. Parents rush to the scene, praying that their children are still alive. Most children are alive. Some are not. Some have been torn apart so badly they can’t even be identified. The parents of these children are sent to the county or city morgue to identify what was once their child. How can a parent live with such a loss? And what about the children who weren’t killed? How can they ever feel completely safe in any environment? Try telling those children who survived such an attack and their parents that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” Do you really think that the survivors of an event like a school shooting give a hoot about a statement like that?

Below is a listing of all the gun attacks that happened in schools from Dec. 14, 2012, through March 27, 2023. The list comes from the group NeverAgain.com. Learn the signs at sandyhookpromise.org. I pray that the schools your children go to are never added to that list, even though I fear that there is more to come.

• Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dec. 14, 2012.
• Hazard Community and Technical College, Jan. 15, 2013.
• Chicago State University, Jan. 16, 2013.
• University of Central Florida, March 18, 2013.
• Santa Monica College, June 7, 2013.
• North Panola High School, Aug. 23, 2013.
• Sparks Middle School, Oct. 21, 2013.
• Arapahoe High School, Dec. 13, 2013.
• Purdue University, Jan. 21, 2014.
• South Carolina State University, Jan. 24, 2014.
• Los Angeles Valley College, Jan. 25, 2014.
• Reynolds High School, June 10, 2014.
• Marysville Pilchuck High School, Oct. 24, 2014.
• Umpqua Community College, Oct. 1, 2015.
• Independence High School, Feb. 12, 2016.
• University of California Los Angeles, June 1, 2016.
• Townville Elementary School, Sept. 28, 2016.
• Scullen Middle School, Jan. 27, 2017.
• North Park Elementary School, April 10, 2017.
• North Lake College, May 4, 2017.
• Rancho Tehama Elementary School, Nov. 14, 2017.
• Aztec High School, Dec. 7, 2017.
• Marshall County High School, Jan. 23, 2018.
• Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Feb. 14, 2018.
• Central Michigan University, March 2, 2018.
• Great Mills High School, March 20, 2018.
• Santa Fe High School, May 18, 2018.
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte, April 30, 2019.
• STEM School Highlands Ranch, May 7, 2019.
• Saugus High School, Nov. 14, 2019.
• Pleasantville High School, Nov. 15, 2019.
• Searles Elementary School, Nov. 23, 2019.
• Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School, Nov. 26, 2019.
• Bellaire High School, Jan. 14, 2020.
• Texas A&M University-Commerce, Feb. 3, 2020.
• Oxford High School, Nov. 30, 2021.
• Bridgewater College, Feb. 1, 2022.
• Robb Elementary School, May 24, 2022.
• Roxborough High School, Sept. 27, 2022.
• Rudsdale Newcomer High School, Sept. 28, 2022.
• McLain High School, Sept. 30, 2022.
• Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, Oct. 24, 2022.
• Jones High School, Nov. 12, 2022.
• Benito Juarez High School, Dec. 16, 2022.
• The Covenant School, March 27, 2023.

Peter Graffagnino

Bridgeville

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.