Why You Should Vote

Vote

The same gun, in a different place.

Young and old, men and women.

A movie theater, concert, a church, a synagogue, a mosque, schools of all levels.

This has to end.

Growing up, I was very blind to the problems of the country in which I lived in, as most children are growing up. Unfortunately, it took one day in December of 2014 for me to quickly realize there was a problem.

I grew up in Stamford, Connecticut my entire life. I attended public school, and I loved it. I was always fascinated with learning new things and hated missing a day of learning.

December 14 th, 2012 was the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. I sat in lockdown in my 8th-grade science classroom unsure of what happened just 40 minutes up the road. I watched my teacher run out of the classroom with a terrified look on his face when he received a phone call from his wife. I watched him come back in the room with an almost relieved yet heartbroken expression.

He lived in Newtown.

When I went home later that day my parents had explained to me what happened that day. I felt sad and I felt angry that this happened to those innocent children. I had always felt safe at school. I was always doing work, learning, taking notes, playing on the playground, laughing with my friends. There was never a thought that ran through my head that something would happen to me if someone walked through the classroom door with a gun.

After Sandy Hook happened these thoughts ran through my head daily.

I did not want to be scared to go to school. I wanted to feel safe. We had lockdown drills and knew what to do in that “situation” but what would REALLY happen that situation? A locked door would stop someone with a gun?

After Sandy Hook happened I thought something would be done about guns. I thought nothing like this would happen again. I hoped something would change about the people who have guns, what type of guns they are allowed to have, and how they were obtained.

Unfortunately, here we are, 4 years later, and 11 innocent people were killed in a synagogue this past Saturday.

The same gun.

I encourage you to vote.

Vote for people who will represent what YOU believe. This has to end. Everyone should feel safe in elementary, middle, and high schools, movie theaters, when praying, playing in a park, at a concert, and at University.

Voting is how YOUR voice can be heard.

November 6th, 2018 is next week.

The only way to see change is to vote change.