The mother of a Covenant school shooting survivor was among several people who took their personal experience with gun violence to Capitol Hill.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The mother of a Covenant school shooting survivor was among several people who took their personal experience with gun violence to Capitol Hill.
This was the second round table on gun violence that the Oversight Committee Democrats have held this season of Congress. It was aimed at examining the epidemic of gun violence and its long-term consequences for children, teenagers, and their communities. The panel of speakers included school leaders, advocates and gun violence experts.
Melissa Alexander told congressional leaders she vividly remembered the morning of the Covenant school shooting when she got a phone call from her son. She said he was frantically begging for her to come save him. Three children and three adults were killed that day in March 2023.
“My son survived and on that day he grew up. He saw unimaginable things no child should ever see. He prepared to die. According to the Washington Post, there have been 383,000 children like my son since Columbine that have experienced some form of gun violence at school,” said Alexander. “A mass shooting is something you do not get over – places, sounds, smells, fire alarms. Remembering those lost become daily reminders of something that should not have ever been . The stress on your family becomes unbearable at times. I remember the inability to eat, to sleep, to focus, to work in the immediate aftermath. Simple decisions like picking out something to wear became impossible. I am just one example of many.”
The principal from the Marshall County High school shooting in Kentucky in 2018 shared a testimony as well. Two students were killed and 20 were injured.
“My heart breaks for these victims but the trauma that day extends far beyond those physically injured,” said Patricia Greer. “Our entire community was wounded and recovery is still ongoing 6 years later with no end in sight. This experience is not unique to Marshall County. Its a reality faced by hundreds of school communities across the nation.”
Ranking member Congressman Jamie Raskin said they wanted to share how gun violence is a public health issue and that common sense gun safety laws are needed.
“Sometimes my colleagues say ‘oh Raskin wants us to repeal the Second Amendment’. No I don’t want you to repeal the Second Amendment I want you to read the Second Amendment, okay. It talks about a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state which is why the right to keep and bear arms is protected but its protected consistent with public safety and public health. None other than Justice Scalia pointed that out in the Heller vs District of Columbia case about handgun safety,” said Raskin. “Nothing in the Constitution is stopping us from doing what we need to do be saving thousands of American lives a year.”