{"id":524,"date":"2025-09-12T11:01:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T11:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sleepystork.com\/?p=524"},"modified":"2025-09-18T10:25:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T10:25:52","slug":"pettersen-the-evergreen-high-school-shooting-feels-overwhelming-but-gun-violence-is-a-policy-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sleepystork.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/pettersen-the-evergreen-high-school-shooting-feels-overwhelming-but-gun-violence-is-a-policy-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Pettersen: The Evergreen High School shooting feels overwhelming, but gun violence is a policy choice"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was sitting in my congressional office before heading to the House floor for votes when my phone lit up. Charlie Kirk \u2013 right-wing activist and podcaster \u2013 has been shot in the neck at a rally on a college campus in Utah. The growing political violence we\u2019ve seen recently has been gut-wrenching and terrifying. I\u2019m not only scared for the safety of friends and colleagues but fearful for the future of our country.<\/p>\n

Then my phone lit up again. I received additional horrifying news: there was, at that very moment, an active shooter at Evergreen High School<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was stunned sitting on the couch thinking about the parents receiving word that there was an active shooter and that they were warned not to go to the school for their safety. The helplessness and not knowing if they\u2019d ever see their kids again. My heart breaks for the students who continue to fight for their lives in the hospital, the parents who are at their bedsides not knowing if they will ever come home, and for the kids and educators who will carry the trauma of this day forever.<\/p>\n

Just like every parent reading the headline, I felt the shock and terror and thought: what if that was my kid? What if that was his school? I\u2019m outraged that this is the result of failed policy and inaction.<\/p>\n

\n

‘Radicalized’ Evergreen High School shooter appeared to hold antisemitic, violent views in online accounts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/!function(d,l){“use strict”;l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&”undefined”!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll(‘iframe[data-secret=”‘+t.secret+'”]’),o=l.querySelectorAll(‘blockquote[data-secret=”‘+t.secret+'”]’),c=new RegExp(“^https?:$”,”i”),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document);<\/p>\n

I grew up here. I attended high school in Jefferson County, not too far from Columbine. I still remember the shock I felt as a junior in high school when the unimaginable happened. Back then, it shocked the nation. But now it\u2019s become all too common. Mass shootings have become an ugly stain on our state. My heart breaks that Evergreen now joins the long line of Colorado communities forever changed by a mass shooting.<\/p>\n

While Colorado has a history of making national headlines for gun violence, we\u2019re certainly not unique. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in this country. Not cars. Not cancer. But gun violence. It\u2019s worth repeating \u2013 guns are the number one killer of our kids. And the most outrageous part about all of this is that it’s completely preventable. How many lives do we need to lose before we are willing to say enough?<\/p>\n

Just weeks ago, we saw kids in Minnesota killed at school. And earlier this summer, lawmakers murdered outside their homes. Now a conservative activist. Now once again, high school students in Evergreen. Who\u2019s going to be next? It feels like we\u2019ve reached a breaking point. This is untenable.<\/p>\n

We are living through a dark moment in our country\u2019s history \u2013 one that will be remembered for whether we confronted the radicalization and violence tearing at our communities or allowed it to break us apart. As a society, we are being forced to answer a fundamental question: is this who we want to be as a country? This is a policy choice. Not a political one.<\/p>\n