Uvalde, Texas

An armed, 18-year old boy walks into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and kills 21 people. Nineteen of them are 3rd and 4th graders, plus two heroic teachers. Many others were hurt. My daughter is in elementary school. The thought of someone taking her young life is too painful to bear. My heart breaks for those families.

I am praying for the Robb Elementary School families, that entire community, and our nation. But prayers alone won’t keep our babies safe. We need to change our thinking and our policies in ways that prove that we truly value our children.

Resource or security officers are typically stationed at many, if not most, of the nation’s junior high and high schools. Sadly, we must make sure that a heavier presence of law enforcement or security professionals is obvious at every educational level. Security procedures must also be clear and regularly updated. I hope every school is in that process today.

I also hope the powers that be in the school boards across the country and all the way up to Congress can now see the need to do something about these tragedies. This isn’t the first time, so we must do more than hope and posture about it being the last.

In addition to security or resource officers, many schools need to be remodeled to have bulletproof glass and reinforced doors. All schools need a heavier presence of law enforcement or security professionals to keep our children safe. They need the money for that. Let’s find it.

We must give our babies the protection they need to attend school without fear.

*********

Above Image: cnn.com