China News Service, July 6. According to the US "World Journal" report, Ms. Zeng, who lives in San Diego, California, is the mother of two boys, the eldest son is nine years old and the youngest son is four years old.

Ms. Zeng reluctantly mentioned that it was only late last year because of the shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan that killed four people, and she wrote an article for a parent-child magazine, talking about how parents can talk to their children about trauma and recovery after a school shooting.

It's only been half a year, and I didn't expect that the manuscript at that time would be applicable again.

　　A shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 killed 19 children and two adults and injured many others.

　　Ms. Zeng recalled that it was in 2018 that the first time she sat down seriously and talked to the children at home about school shootings.

A 19-year-old man with an AR-15 rifle killed 17 people at Douglas High School in Florida.

The eldest son heard and felt very worried after returning home, worried that the same thing would happen to his campus.

At that time, a group of children's parents started to buy bulletproof schoolbags in unison, and even bought out of stock from manufacturers. "As parents, we don't know if we send them to school and they will come back alive. Bulletproof schoolbags may increase their chances of survival. ."

　　This time the primary school in Uvaldi City suffered such a heavy casualty, Ms. Zeng mentioned that parents would still feel panic, but they were accustomed to it.

Everything that needs to be done has been done, and the bulletproof schoolbag has reached the level of one person, but I am even more frustrated by the indifference of the government and politicians.

　　According to the independent media “Education Week” statistics, there have been 27 school shootings as of June 8 in 2022; the database maintained by the “Washington Post” shows that since 1999 Columbine High School (Columbine High School) ) since the shooting, more than 311,000 schoolchildren have experienced some form of gun violence while in school.

　　At a time when school shootings are so frequent, many schools have stepped up their gun drills.

Ms. Zeng's eldest son's school conducts a "Lockdown Drill" every semester, and in the younger son's kindergarten, teachers will also post a rhyme about the safety of school closures on the wall for the children to read.

Ms. Zeng said the eldest son's classmates call the school blockade drill "Bad Guy Drill" because they all understand how frequent school shootings are now, and the drill exists to prevent "Bad guys" came in with guns and killed classmates and teachers.

　　In order to help children digest these shooting incidents, Ms. Zeng has her own methods.

After the Douglas High School shooting, she wrote to members of Congress representing her constituency, asking them to take gun safety seriously and to read her son's letter from Congress; The issue of a statement condemning the government's inaction on the issue represents that many adults are concerned about this matter; she also told her son that many brothers and sisters chose to march in Washington, urging the White House to control guns, and when he grows up, if he wants to make some changes , he will not be alone, there will be like-minded people working hard with him.

　　To own or to control guns is a question that has long divided American society.

Although President Biden recently passed what is arguably the most significant gun safety reform in 30 years, it still cannot prevent the tragedy of the National Day long weekend-a gunman in the northern suburb of Chicago (Highland Park) National Day held on the 4th The parade attacked the marching masses from a height, resulting in 6 deaths and 31 injuries.

　　Ms. Zeng believes that in the process of continuous improvement of the law, there are still some loopholes.

For example, how do you monitor that every gun seller strictly follows a thorough background check?

Should civilian access to powerful fully automatic and semi-automatic rifles be restricted?

How should the black gun network caused by the smuggling and trafficking of guns be thoroughly investigated?

　　The United States has produced 10 million new guns in the past 20 years.

There are more than 300 million people in the country, but there are 400 million guns. Coupled with the protection of the constitutional amendment, it is not feasible to completely ban guns. However, fixing the loopholes in the law and operation and better control of guns will prevent more A feasible solution for a tragedy to happen.

　　Finally, Ms. Zeng called for every parent to do their part in educating their children on gun issues.

Parents who support gun control like her may wish to find like-minded organizations, and take action by writing letters and calling members of Congress, so that children can see the efforts they are making and set an example for them; while those who support gun ownership Parents, they must remind their children what a responsibility it is to hold a gun in their hands, and they cannot push their children into the abyss of irreversible crimes because of their own negligence.

(Ho Cheuk-yin)