Part of me wants to ask why we continue to allow guns to terrorize the places we love. But after spending the past four years as an advocate in the gun violence prevention movement, I know the answer.
Brown University student escorted from library to safety by police
Police escorted a Brown University student from hiding in a library to safety after a shooting on campus.
On December 13th, the community I loved most fell apart. Attending classes, eating meals, and meeting friends will remain the same at Brown University.
Hundreds of text messages bombarded my phone while I was defending myself from a gunman, first at the grocery store and then at a friend’s house off campus. I saw a video of students bleeding on the ground just down the road from my dorm. The friends barricaded themselves in a small room with no water, food or access to a toilet.
As helicopters roared overhead and sirens wailed in my neighborhood, all I could think about were the families of the victims, waiting nervously to hear the fate of their loved ones, not knowing they were about to hear the worst news. That Saturday, a gunman killed two students and injured nine others.
I finally fell asleep at 4am, even though shelter-in-place orders were still in place. After several minutes of restless sleep, I was awakened at 5:42 a.m. by an email from Brown University’s emergency management system. Police have ended the shelter-in-place order for Brown University’s campus, but said they are still actively investigating and maintaining perimeters around major buildings. This only caused further confusion. We were initially told that a suspect was in custody, but later learned that was not the case.
It was a surreal experience walking back to my dorm room that Sunday morning with the streets empty and fresh snow on the ground. Reporters run around. Caution tape everywhere. A passerby with a long and plain face.
On December 18, authorities discovered the body of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, in a self-storage unit in New Hampshire. Neves Valente is the suspected shooter in the Brown shooting on December 13th and the murder of an MIT professor two days later. Now that the gunman is clearly no longer a threat, Brown and the city of Providence can finally take a deep breath. But friends in Providence said the community remains shaken to its core.
We know what we must do to end gun violence. Why not?
Part of me wants to ask why we continue to allow guns to terrorize the places we love. But after spending the past four years as an advocate in the gun violence prevention movement, I know the answer. That’s because we have a firearms industry that continues to prioritize the next billion dollars at the expense of public safety.
Young people like me and my friends at Brown University continue to have their voices silenced when it comes to issues surrounding gun violence. I say with every fiber of my being that this must end now.
We are the richest country in the world. We pride ourselves on being the best defenders of freedom. But my companions and I will never be free. Not when gun violence remains the leading cause of death among young people, when mass shootings occur more than a few days a year in this country, and of course not when politicians can get away with just picking up a check from the gun control lobby even after a school shooting and get paid to do nothing.
Young people like me are tired of being pawns in political games when literally our lives are at stake. Politicians can act with our interests in mind. Australia’s prime minister and ministers have called for immediate tightening of gun safety laws after two gunmen killed 15 people and injured dozens more in an anti-Semitic terrorist attack during Hanukkah celebrations on December 14.
What was the president’s response to my school shooting? “Anything could happen.” This is completely unacceptable.
When will enough be enough?
That’s why I’ve spent so much time on this purpose. Partnering with Brady and working with Team Enough, a youth-led organization dedicated to making sure we are the generation that ends gun violence, I have held countless meetings on Capitol Hill to advocate for policies that protect young people like me.
I got involved in advocacy after the mass shooting at a high school in Virginia. Now that my university community, my adopted home, has been profoundly changed by this epidemic of gun violence, I am even more motivated to demand action.
We need a more responsible culture when it comes to gun ownership. That starts with all firearms owners making sure their weapons are stored safely: locked, unloaded, and away from ammunition.
The Trump administration has loosened enforcement of gun safety laws at the federal level, but states can also be held accountable. And as federal funding for gun violence prevention research continues to be cut, philanthropists and community partners need to work together to help fill the gap. Everyone from parents and doctors to Hollywood directors can take action on a daily basis.
In the words of Maya Angelou, we can be changed by what happens to us, but we refuse to be reduced by it. I know our Brown community will find the resilience to bounce back stronger than ever. I implore the rest of this country to join us in our fight to ensure that no student, child, or human being ever experiences this type of violence again. It is essential to remember that we are always stronger together.
We all have a role to play. Please contact the person in charge. Join your local chapter of a gun violence prevention organization. Turn your anger, sadness, and discomfort into action. Vote for gun violence prevention champions in every election you can.
As a single person, it’s easy to feel powerless. But if we come together, our collective voice will be impossible to ignore, and our common purpose will ultimately help secure a future where our communities can live without fear of being shot.
Will Thomas is a sophomore at Brown University and serves on the executive council of Team Enough, Brady’s youth-led initiative to prevent gun violence in America.
