In addition, these students are the conscience of our nation. They have been through active shooter drills their entire lives. Some have been in active shooter situations. They went through covid at a critical time in their lives and low-income, students of color, especially, lived through incredible trauma with family who were essential workers and not protected, multigenerational households, and inability, in some cases, to even get food.

It is criminal not to find a place where a narrative of reason, respect, and responsibility can lead. We are treating these students worse than we would treat homeless people - because, from the GOP standpoint, they are more of a threat to this nation.

We really should do more, now, to get the message out that leaders should lead and that we need to evaluate the positions of law enforcement that they so readily use military force against our own citizens.