Another day, another school shooting. Another moment of terror as young lives are taken, families are shattered and communities are left in disarray. This time, it’s Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga.—a place that should have been a sanctuary of learning and growth. Instead, it became the scene of a tragedy that claimed four lives and left at least nine others injured. 

A 14-year-old wielding an AR-15-style rifle brought a nightmare to this small Georgia town, leaving behind grief, unanswered questions and a lingering sense of fear. As President Joe Biden remarked, this horrific event is “another reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart.”

But how many reminders do we need? How many more children, teachers and parents must live in fear before we say, “Enough is enough”?

This is not a new story. The blood of the innocent has stained the floors of too many schools across the nation. Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Uvalde—these names ring out as stark reminders of the gun-violence epidemic that has taken a chokehold on our country. Yet, here we are again, mourning more lost lives, debating the same policies and listening to politicians offer “thoughts and prayers” while refusing to act.

School shootings are not isolated incidents. They are part of a pervasive national crisis—a uniquely American epidemic. The Gun Violence Archive reports that the country has had more than 400 school shootings since 2009, with more than 3,000 students injured or killed. Among the deadliest:

These shootings are not random. They follow a hauntingly familiar pattern: young perpetrators armed with military-style rifles, easy access to guns, and red flags that were ignored or downplayed. This time, it was a 14-year-old who had been on law enforcement’s radar for making threats. Yet, even after being questioned, he was able to access a weapon of war and bring it into his school, taking four more lives in a nation already drowning in gun violence.

President Biden rightly points to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act as a meaningful step forward in addressing gun violence. The legislation, passed in 2022, is the most significant federal gun-safety law in decades, expanding background checks for buyers under 21 and offering incentives for states to implement red-flag laws. It also closed the “boyfriend loophole,” barring people convicted of domestic violence from owning firearms.

But let’s be clear: This law, while a start, is not enough. It’s a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. As the bodies pile up, Congress continues to balk at the most common-sense reforms—banning assault weapons, limiting magazine sizes and enacting universal background checks. These are measures that the vast majority of Americans support, including many gun owners, yet our lawmakers refuse to act, held hostage by the powerful gun lobby and their campaign contributions.

Why is it that in the United States, a teenager can’t legally buy alcohol but can get their hands on an AR-15? Why is it that we demand more training and regulation for drivers than we do for people who want to own deadly weapons? We’re not talking about hunting rifles or personal protection. We’re talking about weapons of war designed for maximum damage, the kind that no child should ever encounter.

The gun-violence epidemic isn’t just a matter of access to firearms. It’s also about the systemic failures that allow individuals with clear red flags to fall through the cracks. How did Colt Gray, the 14-year-old shooter at Apalachee High, get access to an AR-15 after law enforcement flagged him just a year earlier for making threats of violence? How did so many other school shooters—Nicholas Cruz at Parkland, Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook—manage to obtain guns despite warning signs? Our system is broken, and it is killing our children.

And let’s not forget the significant effects on survivors. The trauma of living through a school shooting is profound and lifelong. Survivors often grapple with PTSD, anxiety and depression. Entire communities are left scarred, forever marked by a tragedy that could have been prevented. Schools have become fortresses, with lockdown drills and bulletproof backpacks becoming the new norm. We have turned our schools into war zones and our children into soldiers trained to hide, run and fight back. What kind of society allows this to continue?

We cannot continue to accept this as the status quo. Every shooting that occurs is a failure of our government to protect its most vulnerable citizens. But we, the people, can make a difference. We can demand more from our elected officials. We can vote out those who refuse to pass meaningful gun reform and support candidates who dare to stand up to the NRA and the gun lobby.

Now is the time for action, not just words. Congress must act swiftly to pass an assault-weapons ban. We need stronger red-flag laws that prevent dangerous individuals from getting their hands on guns. We need universal background checks, mandatory safe storage laws and the repeal of immunity for gun manufacturers. We need to treat gun violence like the public-health crisis it is, with research, funding and preventive measures that address the root causes of this epidemic.

This isn’t about taking away Second Amendment rights. This is about common-sense measures that will save lives. The families of Apalachee High School, Sandy Hook, Parkland and countless others deserve more than our thoughts and prayers. They deserve action.

To every lawmaker who has stood by and done nothing, know this: The blood of every child, every teacher and every innocent life lost to gun violence is on your hands. We will not forget. 

We will not be silent. And we will not stop fighting until mass shootings in America become a thing of the past. “Is this America?” Fannie Lou Hamer once asked, challenging the conscience of a nation. Today, we ask again: Is this America? An America where children fear for their lives in classrooms, where teachers risk their safety to protect our future leaders?

Lawmakers and those in power must give a damn—about our children, about our educators and about the sanctity of learning spaces. America, wake up. Our children’s lives depend on it. If we don’t act now, how many more will die before we do what’s right?

Columnist Duvalier Malone is the author of "Those Who Give A Damn: A Manual for Making a Difference," a motivational speaker, community activist, and CEO of Duvalier Malone Enterprises, a global consulting firm. He lives in Washington, D.C.