We dont have to accept this

Written By Carly Jones

content warning—

I’ve never been one to remain quiet in the face of injustice, you can even see that in my aura when I got an aura reading from Aura Theory.  Theres a deep yellow near my throat, that’s my deep desire to speak up against injustice.

I had planned to write about emotions and first impressions, but then Wednesday happened — and I can’t write about anything else when kids are being killed. I might lose followers, clicks, or subscribers, and that’s okay with me. I will always stand up for my beliefs, even if it scares me. Sending this email…scares me.


Eerily enough, it dawned on me early this week that with the kids going back to school, brings the threat of school shootings. My heart sank a little at the reality and my body tensed in preparation for the school year.


I opened Instagram on Thursday and the first image I saw was of a bloody scene. I immediately thought of what the trauma bay in the ED looked like after a high level trauma. It took my brain a minute to put the pieces together, then I realized I was looking at the aftermath of a school classroom. 

My nervous system cannot do this all school year.

I was 9 when Columbine happened. As I write this, I am 35.

I asked ChatGPT how many school shootings have happened in K-12 schools since Columbine in 1999, 26 years ago. The answer, it depends.

It depends on how school shootings are defined (CRAZY). It gave me 3 categories:

“Broadest definition,” any incident where a gun was fired, brandished, or a bullet struck school property, even if no one was injured. There have been at least 2,032 school shootings since Columbine. 

The “moderate definition,” one or more people were actually shot: 1,143 shootings.


“Strict definition” (mass shooting), four or more people were shot: 59 K-12 school shootings. 

According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were 200-250 school shootings between 1970 and 1999. I say this to remind you, this is not normal and we do not have to live like this.

 

Columbine prompted some funding for school resource officers and security, but Congress failed to pass sweeping reforms. After former President Bill Clinton banned assault weapons in 1994, mass shooting deaths dropped by 43%, and after congress allowed the ban to expire in 2004, mass shootings shot up by 239%.

NRA and gun rights groups have historically blocked or weakened federal reform efforts. Even after mass school shootings with significant public outcry, Congress has often failed to act due to partisan division.


Following  the mass killings of elementary school students and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary, major reform proposals that expanded background checks and bans on assault weapons failed in the Senate. A decade later, similar bans failed again in the Senate in 2022. However, 2022 did see the first significant federal gun legislation in 30 years with the passing of the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act, but it’s not enough.

When a school shooting is just ONE of the terrible injustices of the week…

It's not my nature to continue business as usual, when this is by no means usual. As a mental health clinician, there is only so much coping I can suggest when we are in a constant state of “unprecedented times.” 

Reform, change, and progress is possible, it's just not what is being chosen. We can change that. We can use our voice. We can rally together, form a coalition, if you will.

This week’s call to action is to take a stand. This is by no means an assault on your second amendment, but assault rifles for civilians are completely unnecessary. If you want to shoot assault rifles, that should be done in specific, contained, and monitored environments. 

So this Friday, in honor of 493 people that have been killed by guns on school property since Columbine, I ask you to consider taking action.

What you can do:

 1. Contact Lawmakers Directly

  • Call, email, or write your representatives (both state and federal). Calls tend to get the most attention. (Reply to this email if you want a script example.)

  • Be specific: demand renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban, closing background check loopholes, and red flag laws.

  • You can find your reps here: house.gov & senate.gov.

Tip: Personal stories and tying it back to community safety often get heard more than form letters.

 2. Support Advocacy Organizations

These groups are actively lobbying for stronger laws:

3. Mobilize Locally

  • Attend or help organize rallies, vigils, and marches to keep public attention on gun violence.

  • Partner with local school boards, PTAs, and community groups to adopt safe storage laws and violence prevention programs.

  • Push for local resolutions that call on Congress to pass national reform — local action builds momentum.

 4. Use Your Voice & Platform (my current approach)

  • Write op-eds or letters to the editor in local newspapers — legislators notice these.

  • Post educational content on social media linking assault rifles to school shootings and showing overwhelming public support for reform.

  • Share resources that counter myths (e.g., banning assault rifles doesn’t mean banning all guns).

 5. Support & Elect Gun-Sense Candidates

 6. Community-Level Prevention

  • Advocate for mental health services in schools — prevention and support reduce risks before they escalate.

  • Promote safe storage education (many school shooters use unsecured guns from home).

  • Build local networks to respond when red flag concerns arise.

The world feels heavy. It seems like more and more, we are being asked to put on a smile and keep pushing through. I am not going to pretend that the services I provide are going to be the full answer, but I do believe it will provide some reprieve. Some quiet and stillness for an over active mind and nervous system. A reminder that even in chaos, the choices we make, matter.

Healing can still happen even when it feels impossible.

book here → https://www.therapyportal.com/p/woccvb/

Carly Jones
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Grief isn’t just about death