Triggered.

The needless death of 19 children in a 4th grade classroom and their two teachers.

All my art can be found on Instagram @klonskyart

Nobody who is reading this today needs convincing about guns, reducing their number, ending the ease of availability, the cowardice of Democrat and Republican electeds in Congress to pass even the smallest of reforms.

It almost seems hopeless.

There are millions of guns, many illegally owned, on the streets.

Guns are the leading cause of death among our children.

Wait. That’s written in too passive a form.

People used guns to kill more of our kids in the U.S. than any disease, or drug, or Covid, or car crashes or birth defects.

Guns.

Me? I think we should confiscate them all.

But what if we just reduced the availability of some of them?

What if background checks reduced the death toll of our kids by 10% next year?

And some other reforms reduced it a little more.

Maybe background checks wouldn’t change anything.

I don’t know.

The students and teachers at Robb were 4th graders.

I taught 4th grade kids Art. And kindergarten kids.

Every grade from Kindergarten to 5th.

It’s been a while, but I’m hoping they are all okay.

We never had a shooter in our school.

But I can tell you that every kid in America today is a victim of gun violence.

Every kid who has had to go through a lockdown drill, hiding in the dark, locked door, told to be absolutely quiet.

Every kid who watched their mom break into tears this morning as they were sent off to school.

Or who was sent out of the room when Lester Holt came on, warning viewers, “The following images may be disturbing.”

I sat with 4th graders in lockdown, under tables in the dark, after reaching around to lock the door, writing down the names of kids who were out of the room, maybe in the toilet or with a social worker.

It was a drill, so I knew if a student was in the hall they were safe.

But what if it wasn’t a drill?

And I know every school that has faced a mass shooting had drills.

I’m sure Robb Elementary had lockdown drills.

But there are too many guns.