Respecting all perspectives

I was deeply shocked by the accusations that my personal beliefs regarding policy were akin to me not caring for the victims. I grieve alongside my community and classmates when these events occur. I had family that lived only blocks away from Sandy Hook Elementary School and a teacher of mine was present at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas which was the scene of the shooting last October. My personal connections to these events have led me to understand how these occurances can impact anyone and cannot be ignored. I am deeply empathetic toward the victims as all Americans are. I simply do not believe that removing the right of individuals to defend themselves by using a firearm is a solution to this issue. I do believe that increased access to mental health care and the creation of gun violence restraining orders, which allow for the family and friends of a person to ask a court to confiscate their weapon due to a present threat are needed reforms that can mitigate the risk of mass shootings. The type of discussions and negotiations needed to enact these laws at the state and national level cannot occur if the debate is undercut by allegations that the cause of disagreements is a result of indifference to the victims.

In the wake of the shooting in Parkland, David Hogg, a Parkland student, has repeatedly accused Florida Sen. Marco Rubio of caring more about money than the lives of children. This rhetoric has become widespread, with another Parkland student, Cameron Kasky, telling Rubio during a town hall conducted by CNN a week after the shooting that “it’s hard to look at you and not look down a barrel of an AR-15 and not look at Nicholas Cruz.” The insinuation that a respected member of the Senate is akin to a murderer of children is both absurd and deeply troubling. Rubio has been at the forefront of bipartisan action by working with his fellow Florida Sen. Bill Nelson on a bill that initiates the use of Gun Violence Restraining Orders. This partnership needs to be a model for direct legislative action that can actually prevent mass shootings. The left’s rhetoric serves only to castigate those who disagree with them on policy and does not allow for dignified political discourse.

The problem of gun violence in America is complex and can only be solved with a multilateral approach. Such action requires extensive debate about the facts and history of specific legislative action. This level of discourse cannot be maintained if we cannot enter into debate with the understanding that we all care deeply about our fellow Americans. Impugning the morality of individuals based solely on their political beliefs is divisive and is a barrier to the political process.

Charlie Chapman is a junior at Burlingame High School. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.