I know that
hunting is a way of life,
but semi-automatic weapons
are made with the intentions to hunt humans.
They spray bullets without a second thought,
and kill.
That killing machine,
hulking and deadly,
is worthless in a game of sport,
but makes all the difference in a battlefield.
In a school of screaming children,
fearing for their lives in the corners of locked rooms.

How many more of us must scream
bloody murder
to save our lives?
How many more of us must scream
because our lives depend on it?
How many more of us
will be buried six feet under
until something happens?

We are murdered in pristine white school hallways.
We worry about making it out alive
when we are kids
who should be worrying about our next test.
We worry about telling our family we love them
because what if it's the last time.
We worry about the nearest escape route
because maybe this drill is real
when we should be worried about the colleges
we have dreamt of since childhood.

I don't want guns to go away.
I want extensive background checks,
I want bump stocks banned,
I want semi-automatic
and automatic weapons banned,
and I want safety for our future.

We don't fire with fire,
so we shouldn't fight guns with guns.
It is not a teacher's job
to reach for the handgun on their hip
and shoot into a crowd of running children
that they swore to educate
and to protect.

It is not in a teacher's job description
to stare a student in the face
with shaking hands and
to aim with the intent to kill. 

It is not a student's responsibility
to walk up to Nazi saluting students,
to walk up to terrorists,
to walk up to racists,
to walk up to bigots,
and to befriend them
just in hopes of saving the school
when administrations stigmatize mental illness
and refuse to take action for the murders of our students.

I am marching
for the two injured students,
shot in their school
a week after the walkout.
I am marching for my classmates
who fear for their lives when they hear the intercom.
I am marching for my family
who fear that I may not come home one day
because someone came into my school
with a gun
and the cold intent to kill.
I am marching for myself,
because this is my life
and I have hopes and dreams.

I am marching for Alyssa Alhadeff.
I am marching for Scott Beigel.
I am marching for Martin Duque Anguiano.
I am marching for Nicholas Dworet.
I am marching for Aaron Feis.
I am marching for Jamie Guttenberg.
I am marching for Chris Hixon.
I am marching for Luke Hoyer.
I am marching for Cara Loughran.
I am marching for Gina Montalto.
I am marching for Joaquin Oliver.
I am marching for Alaina Petty.
I am marching for Meadow Pollack.
I am marching for Helena Ramsay.
I am marching for Alex Schachter.
I am marching for Carmen Schentrup.
I am marching for Peter Wang.
I am marching for the 7,000 children lost
to gun violence
ever since Sandy Hook.
I am marching for those who have died
at the barrel of a gun
and have been reduced to a mere statistic.

I am marching for anyone who has died
with bullets in their back
because they dared to receive an education.
I am marching for the families of the victims
and the families of the survivors.
I am marching for everyone,
because it is our right to live and breathe
without fearing that today might be our last.

Yes,
I'm marching.
And I won't regret a single second.
Not now
and not ever.

#writersforchange