Today, we were thrilled to open The New York Times and see a full-page, open letter on page A7 signed by the heads of hundreds of independent schools throughout New York State, including many of the wonderful special education schools our clients’ children attend. Titled “Heads of Schools Speak Out Against Gun Violence,” this joint letter calls upon our President and Congress to do their jobs and enact common sense gun law reform. In support of this, the signatories grimly cite the fact that the United States leads the world in the number of guns per capita, as well as the number of homicides, suicides, and accidental deaths involving guns—and the highest number of deaths of children involving guns.
The survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida returned to class today, but they have made plain their refusal to return to business as usual. Their unjaded, unrestrained activism and their honest outrage have given us all reason to hope. And, as President Barack Obama tweeted last week, we must all have their backs.
This is not a partisan issue. We must put aside tribalism and find common ground to protect our children and teachers. Our office applauds all the schools who signed today’s open letter. It is critical that we all stand with teachers and students whose lives are threatened by the continued inaction of Congress on this urgent issue.
Many of us plan to be part of the March for Our Lives on March 24th, the date that the Parkland students have called for protests in Washington, DC and other cities. There isn’t much information available yet about the specifics for NYC, but there is a Facebook event page that promises to keep interested folks updated.