Every day after I wake up and brush my teeth, I put on my glasses, my watch and my armband. It's an orange strip of cloth, frayed at the edges, that's begun to turn brownish from dirt. I have been wearing it every single day since February 14, 2018. The day that 17 people were killed because some people value the false sense of security that their guns bring them and the money the gun industry and NRA provide them, over the lives of me, my classmates, and every child attending a school in the United States. So yes. I have been wearing that armband every day for over seven months now. And I plan to wear it every day for the rest of my life until I, and any other American student can walk into a classroom without fearing the crack of gun fire piercing the air.

According to the Washington Post, more than 215,000 children have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. Also according to the Post's study, over 140 people have been killed, and many more have been injured. In the year 2018 (which has not even ended yet) there have been more school shootings than in any other year in the 21st century. 

These are the facts. Make of them what you want. The Trump Administration is arguing that the solution is to arm teachers, but you can't stop guns with more guns. And where would the money for those guns be coming from? Money that could be used to give those same hard working teachers higher wages. I'm sure if you offered any teacher the choice of fair payment or a gun, they would not pick the killing machine. Some say that all we need is better background checks, which may be a part of the solution, but in truth, the one fool proof way to stop people from using assault rifles to kill children and educators is to take away the guns. Create better gun control laws. Ban assault weapons. Their only purpose is to kill, so why would anyone need to use them, except to kill? There are many names of the people that have pulled the trigger, but in the end, it's the gun that the bullet shot out of, and the real murderer is the politician who allowed for the gun to exist, and to be in that person's hand in the first place.

So please. Please, please, please, please, please. Take one moment out of your life to sign this petition, to click that one button, so that we children can have time to grow up and sign petitions and make a difference too. We are the future. It is your duty to protect us.