In this op-ed, April Ma, founder of the Johnson County, Kansas, chapter of Students Demand Action, shares how she and her peers are working to end gun violence.

As a high school senior, I’ve grown up in the midst of our country’s gun violence crisis. The media has dubbed us the “mass shooting generation” — kids and teenagers who have grown up in a country where phrases like “another mass shooting” are part of the everyday vernacular. In school, we are taught to recognize the difference between the popping sound of fireworks and the blast of a gun. Why have we allowed this to become normal?

Every one of us can help prevent gun violence. For me, the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, was horrifying, but it wasn’t the first time gun violence had hit close to home. Four years ago on my birthday, there was a shooting at the Jewish Community Center just 10 minutes from my house near Kansas City. A white supremacist shot and killed three people at the center and at an assisted living facility nearby, including a high schooler in my district. I didn’t know any of the people who died, but the shooting woke me up to how hate and easy access to firearms could be deadly. I was scared, but it wasn’t until the tragedy in Parkland that I realized that I had to do something.

I channeled my anger and frustration into action by founding my local Johnson County, Kansas, chapter of Students Demand Action, a national initiative created by teens and young adults who are ready to join the gun violence prevention movement and demand change. We knew that change wouldn’t come without responsible lawmakers, so we worked quickly to figure out how to make a difference before the midterm elections. Weeks after our founding, we hosted a town hall for the Third Congressional District of Kansas. We also began holding voter registration drives to make sure as many students as possible are registered.

While my peers and I share a fear that our school or our community will be next, we also know we can act to stop this. The gun violence we’ve all grown up with is preventable. Students like me all over the country — many of whom are 18 or turning 18 before November’s elections — are outraged by the lack of action from too many lawmakers who have done nothing to stop this gun violence crisis.

That’s why Students Demand Action chapters across the country are working to register 10,000 voters before the 2018 midterm elections so we can replace elected leaders beholden to the gun lobby with people who have the courage to lead and stand up for our safety.

But that’s only one part of this fight. In order to truly end gun violence, we must recognize and confront it in all its forms rather than only focus on the stories that make it into the headlines. We must acknowledge that gun violence disproportionately impacts people of color, and listen to the black Americans who have organized and worked on this issue for years. We must discuss how people of color from low socioeconomic backgrounds have been forced to confront and fight gun violence for years, while not receiving the same attention given to mass shootings.

My work here in Kansas City might seem like a small step, but I know I’m doing my part in addressing and fighting against all of this. And I’m not the only one. With the tidal wave of activism we’ve seen since Parkland, groups like Students Demand Action are turning up the pressure to force adults — especially lawmakers — to act.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the change will happen overnight. As Parkland survivor Rebecca Schneid said at the 2018 March for Our Lives, this fight “is a marathon.” The prospect of short-term failures is never a justification to simply leave the issue alone and sweep it under the rug as if it doesn’t exist. Simple efforts like setting up voter registration drives or volunteering at gun violence prevention events might seem like small actions, but together, we can make a huge difference.

I know change happens slowly, but we can quicken its pace. We all have a role in ending this national crisis, and we all deserve to live free from gun violence — in our schools, our homes, and our communities. Text “STUDENTS” to 644-33 to join gun violence prevention advocates in your community.

When our movement touches hearts and minds, we change public opinion. And when we change public opinion, policies change. 

That’s why Students Demand Action chapters across the country are working to register 10,000 voters before the 2018 midterm elections so we can replace elected leaders beholden to the gun lobby with people who have the courage to lead and stand up for our safety.

But that’s only one part of this fight. In order to truly end gun violence, we must recognize and confront it in all its forms rather than only focus on the stories that make it into the headlines. We must acknowledge that gun violence disproportionately impacts people of color, and listen to the black Americans who have organized and worked on this issue for years. We must discuss how people of color from low socioeconomic backgrounds have been forced to confront and fight gun violence for years, while not receiving the same attention given to mass shootings.

My work here in Kansas City might seem like a small step, but I know I’m doing my part in addressing and fighting against all of this. And I’m not the only one. With the tidal wave of activism we’ve seen since Parkland, groups like Students Demand Action are turning up the pressure to force adults — especially lawmakers — to act.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the change will happen overnight. As Parkland survivor Rebecca Schneid said at the 2018 March for Our Lives, this fight “is a marathon.” The prospect of short-term failures is never a justification to simply leave the issue alone and sweep it under the rug as if it doesn’t exist. Simple efforts like setting up voter registration drives or volunteering at gun violence prevention events might seem like small actions, but together, we can make a huge difference.

I know change happens slowly, but we can quicken its pace. We all have a role in ending this national crisis, and we all deserve to live free from gun violence — in our schools, our homes, and our communities. Text “STUDENTS” to 644-33 to join gun violence prevention advocates in your community.

When our movement touches hearts and minds, we change public opinion. And when we change public opinion, policies change.

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/april-ma-students-demand-action-gun-violence-op-ed