Reflecting on Columbine, 25 years later, a survivor writes: "When a door plug falls off a plane, we ground hundreds of planes and investigate. When it’s believed a car battery might cause a fire, millions of vehicles are recalled. When a batch of lettuce isn’t processed properly, we remove it from the shelves and the FDA posts a warning. We regulate, investigate and set up systems and protocols for safety in this country for nearly everything — except guns. We’ve set up a national hotline for suicide prevention, but nothing exists to report suspected would-be mass murderers. Why? Why do we refuse to do better?
If we’d taken mass shootings seriously 25 years ago, how many children would be alive today? How many families’ loved ones? How much blood has to be spilled before it’s enough? Will our collective empathy ever kick in?
