As I write this, the airwaves are flooded with the nation’s most recent school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, WI. There are three known dead at this moment and several injured, including at least one person with life-threatening injuries. The school shooting problem to the degree it exists here is unique to America. Nowhere else where these incidents have occurred is the plan to do nothing except offer thoughts and prayers.
To be sure, America has improved post-shooting protocols so that everyone knows what’s expected in the aftermath. Local officials know to look for the designation of a reunification center where families can meet up with the surviving children. Press conferences are set up with representatives from state and local governments and the FBI. Counselors are arranged for the survivors, flowers are delivered to a memorial site, and social media is littered with posts from elected officials expressing their sorrow.
There is one new trend. We’ve gotten better at placing blame, often in the wrong place. Mental health is blamed and we’re now prepared to throw parents under the bus for their failure to supervise their children and prevent access to guns. We’ve “hardened schools” and provided more resource officers and armed some teachers. The one thing that won’t happen is the restriction of guns because more guns equals freedom in the minds of the politicians paid by the NRA to think so.
Abundant Life Christian School (ALCS) offers grades from Kindergarten through 12th grade. It serves approximately 200 families from 56 churches. ALCS promotes smaller class sizes, a warm and respectful atmosphere, and a student body representing a wide variety of different area churches.
What has become clear is that the victims of this shooting and all who came before are acceptable losses because the people who can make changes won’t do so. In 2024, there were at least 200 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. The shooting in Wisconsin also comes less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire at a Christian school in Northern California and after years of debate over how to keep schools safe.
The NRA has yet to issue a statement after this shooting. They can cut and paste from their previous statements. They may say they’re “committed to making our schools safe” and describe the shooter as a “lone, deranged criminal.” The NRA really favors more guns and doing more of the same we’ve always done. A few more dead falls within acceptable limits . Those words will never be used, but the tone will be inescapable. Whatever they are weighing vs. the lives of children whether profits or political power is obviously more important. See you next time.