By Andrew Kelly
Special to the Herald

Our representatives have failed us.
Seventeen innocent people — including fourteen teenagers– died in a senseless tragedy that could have been prevented if we had proper background checks, a system that prevents the mentally unstable from owning high caliber firearms or even prevented people under a certain age from gaining access to high-caliber rifles.
And yet, thanks to the cowardice of our representatives in Congress, the NRA and the Florida state legislature, the best our leaders, the ones who swore an oath to protect the citizens of this country, can do is offer a short moment of “thoughts and prayers” before they go back to receiving boxes of boutique chocolates and exotic flowers from their NRA masters.
In the Constitution, the Second Amendment entitles us to become a part of a “well-regulated” militia if we choose to do so. According to the definition of “well-regulated” as referred to in the Constitution, it means “functioning properly and sound.” Is a militia of people who are scarcely old enough to drink alcohol or consume marijuana going around on indiscriminate killing sprees what the men and women of the NRA would consider well-regulated? Or would they rather blame these shootings on the “Deep State” boogeyman, assuring themselves that this was all a hoax and that nobody would ever commit these heinous acts for real, absolving themselves of any moral fault in the process?
And to the congressmen and women who so callously struck down efforts to prevent tragedies such as the one in Parkland: we’re coming for you. The 2018 midterms will be upon us very soon, and the sane boys, girls, men, and women will be there at the polls to make our voices heard and demand sensible gun legislation.

Andrew Kelly is a senior at Benicia High School.

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