Nashville Tragedy & the Impact of Gun Violence 💔
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The Ten News Season 3: Episode 48
Special Report Part 2: 📰 Ten'ers Leilani & Owen join us for a definition breakdown of tough terms being used in the news 💭 Guest Expert, Abbie Gregor shares how to process a tragic event & the impact it can have on us ❤️ Hear from activists, Shannon Watts from Moms Demand Action and Mikayla Johnson from Students Demand Action
Links
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/biden-signs-bipartisan-gun-safety-package-law/story?id=85692952
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TRANSCRIPT:
Ryan Willard 00:03
Good morning, Pamela.
Pamela Kirkland 00:04
Hey, Ryan. You're here early.
Ryan Willard 00:06
Yeah, I'm getting ready for today's episode. It's a really tough one for me. We're going to talk about gun violence, again. And I'm feeling really sad about it.
Pamela Kirkland 00:15
Yeah, me too.
Ryan Willard 00:17
This gun violence seems to be happening all the time. And when I hear about it, it makes me angry and frustrated, and scared.
Pamela Kirkland 00:25
Would you like a hug, Ryan?
Ryan Willard 00:26
Yes, please. Thanks, Pamela. Yeah, that helped. Okay. I think I'm ready to start.
Pamela Kirkland 00:37
Let's do it. I'm Pamela Kirkland.
Ryan Willard 00:40
And I'm Ryan Willard. It's Wednesday, April 5th.
Pamela Kirkland 00:43
This is The Ten News.
Sound Bit 00:48
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Pamela Kirkland 00:56
There was some really tough news last week. In Nashville, Tennessee, there was a school shooting that took the lives of six people, adults, and children. It's a heartbreaking tragedy and 1 of 130 mass shootings in the US in 2023. The definition of a mass shooting can vary. But generally, it means four or more people being injured or killed by gun violence.
Ryan Willard 01:21
It's left us wondering why this happened. And how does it stop? And we're thinking about you, our Ten'ers, and how you are handling all of this. Here's what Ten'er Leilani had to say.
Leilani 01:32
I just honestly want to know why people are going out there and shooting people at schools. It's terrifying.
Ryan Willard 01:41
Events like a school shooting are really scary and no one knows why an individual chooses to hurt others. Schools are a very safe place. And if we talk about the issue, it helps us process what happened.
Pamela Kirkland 01:52
So today, we're here to do what we can to help you start to have a conversation at home with your family and learn about the ways that many adults are working to change the gun laws in the United States.
Ryan Willard 02:04
In this episode, we're going to hear from some of our Ten'ers, get help from some experts to answer your questions, and learn what activists are doing to push change and make a difference. And a reminder during today's show, if you need to take a break and turn this off. That's okay. We'll still be here for you when you're ready to come back. Not interested in talking about this topic. That's okay to check out one of our other episodes and have a good laugh if that will help. Like last Wednesday's episode where I learned when I should wipe my butt with rocks.
Pamela Kirkland 02:33
Sticking around? Then grab your grown up and let's get going with this Ten News Special Episode. It wouldn't be The Ten News if we didn't kick things off with a definition breakdown.
Ryan Willard 02:52
There are a lot of terms being used on the news and by two of our Ten'ers. Leilani and Owen are here to help us with this rundown.
Owen Kaplan 03:00
What is gun violence?
Pamela Kirkland 03:02
Gun violence means anyone getting injured or killed by a gun. Gun violence is the leading cause of adolescent deaths in America in 2023. 413 Kids, 17 and under have been killed and 969 have been injured by guns.
Leilani 03:21
What is the second amendment and why do we have it?
Ryan Willard 03:25
The Second Amendment of the US Constitution was added in 1791 and states a well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. This can be interpreted in many different ways and for many years was argued that it covers individuals’ gun rights. In 2008, the Supreme Court addressed the case that involved the Second Amendment and voted five to four that the amendment allows us citizens to have a gun at home for self-defense, though many constitutional historians disagree that the Constitution allows personal ownership of a gun.
Owen Kaplan 04:01
What are assault weapons?
Pamela Kirkland 04:04
Assault weapons and assault rifles are semi-automatic guns designed for military use and quick efficient killing. In 1994, assault weapons were banned nationwide, but the law expired in 2004 and efforts to renew that ban have repeatedly failed, and now it's easier to obtain an assault weapon than ever before.
Leilani 04:27
What is gun control?
Pamela Kirkland 04:28
Gun control refers to any legal measure intended to prevent or restrict the possession or use of guns. activists who are pushing for stricter laws prefer the term gun since last year, Moms Demand Action founder, Shannon Watts joined The Ten News. And here's what she had to say.
Shannon Watts 04:47
Gun sense is really just a way to say common sense. It means that we can all be doing more to protect our families and our communities from gun violence. This is really about putting the responsibility issues that should go along with gun rights back into the equation. They've really been stripped away by gun lobbyists and special interests. And it's really up to everyday average citizens to make sure that our lawmakers are doing what we say and not what gun lobbyists say.
Owen Kaplan 05:19
What are schools doing to keep kids safe?
Ryan Willard 05:23
Schools have many ways of keeping students safe. Teachers and students participate in active shooter drills and lockdown drills, these drills or exercises are designed to train people how to respond to dangerous situations, there isn't one single way to do these. So these can vary from school to school or place to place.
Pamela Kirkland 05:40
And Leilani. We know that you have active shooter drills at your school. Can you share with that's like?
Leilani 05:46
Usually, we would hear the announcements from the principal, because we have like speakers in our classroom like hopefully most classrooms do. And we go outside and then after that, we would usually just continue what we're doing. But some days we would hear about like what exactly we would do. And like, if the person with the gun was over here over there, like anywhere, we wouldn't know where to go.
Pamela Kirkland 06:13
Thanks for sharing, Leilani.
Ryan Willard 06:23
During a tough time, it's helpful to turn to an expert for ways to process scary and confusing events and topics. Joining us today on The Ten News is Abby Gregor. Abby is a licensed clinical social worker and has been working in schools since 2000. She is currently a middle school counselor in the Berkeley United School system in California and a licensed therapist, we decided that this was a job for Kap. So here is show creator Tracy Kaplan speaking with Abby.
Tracy Kaplan 06:50
Abby, thank you for joining us today. Let's get right into this. Tell us a bit about your background.
Abbie Gregor 06:55
I started working in a high school. And I worked in a multidisciplinary clinic providing mental health services to people there. And we would see a number of students both in crisis individually, as well as experienced school-wide crises over the time that I work there. So now I work at a middle school and I do a combination of providing social and emotional support, as well as academic. And we're still very much responding to emergencies and national crises as they come up.
Tracy Kaplan 07:25
How do you talk to your students about what's going on? Do you find that they come to you? Or do you actively kind of broach the topic to start a conversation?
Abbie Gregor 07:33
It depends on what has happened. If there is an event that has actively impacted our community very directly, then we will as a school acknowledge what has happened. So teachers might read a statement. And then we would invite students to be able to come and talk to a counselor if they would like to speak about it more. Sometimes people like to speak about things individually. And sometimes they like to come in groups. Everybody's kind of processing information in their own way, and may experience a whole range of feelings. But we support everybody and recognize that there are a whole lot of different feelings that come up around when scary events happen, like gun violence in schools,
Tracy Kaplan 08:18
And I'm sure some of us are feeling this. But what about kids or adults who feel like they're becoming numb to these tragedies?
Abbie Gregor 08:25
It's very scary to learn about these things. And particularly with a school, school is a place where you're supposed to be safe. It's a place where you learn where you're supposed to be taken care of when you're not at home, with your family. So when we hear about these incidents of violence at schools, it can change the way we feel about our own safety in schools. Having the unexpected become expected is really scary, right, that says there's a fundamental shift in their own feelings of safety at school.
Tracy Kaplan 08:57
And I'd love to know, what are some signs that you look out for, to know if a kid is struggling.
Abbie Gregor 09:02
So one thing that's very normal is to experience a lot of fear afterward, it can be normal to have mood swings, to suddenly be okay, and then the next minute be really angry or really sad. So what we say to kids is that feelings are kind of like the weather. So some days it might feel really sunny, and some days it might feel really stormy. So whether something we don't control is just like feelings. So the best we can do is to take care of ourselves when we're having those difficult times to have as much comfort as possible and know that the sun will come back out. So one thing I like to think about too, is what something we'd want to watch out for. So if we notice that we're having just stormy day after stormy day, that would be a sign it would be really good to get some help and to talk to somebody about that. When it stops feeling like a rainy week and it starts feeling more like a season. That's when it's really important to get some connection and support for the feelings that you're having. The thing that I would say is, one thing is a school shooting is very different from a natural disaster like an earthquake or a fire. Because there's nothing natural about it. It feels so wrong for people to be harmed in a place where children are supposed to be safe and nurtured. And I think that adds to the trauma of the experience.
Tracy Kaplan 10:29
What are some of the ways that you've helped students process loss and scary events?
Abbie Gregor 10:33
So I created this healing worksheet that was based on the critical incident stress debrief model, which was actually used for firefighters and police after they would respond to a very traumatic and stressful event in the community. So I developed this healing worksheet that walks you through a little bit about the experience almost like a mad lib, we're familiar with Mad Libs, where we might put in a little bit of information. But we're not trying to make this funny. Here, we're really just having a space to be able to walk through processing our experience of this event, one of the things that I find really important in responding to an event like this is that everybody gets to choose, and consents to whatever amount of dialogue they're going to have about this because some people really want to process this information and talk about these experiences. And some people come to school to just be focused on their work.
Tracy Kaplan 11:35
Your school system, Berkeley is known for having very engaged students and youth activists, how do you think about giving kids the tools to participate in change, without putting too much pressure on them?
Abbie Gregor 11:46
It's a balance between trying to empower youth to have both a sense of voice and agency without the burden of responsibility. So recognizing that right now, it's adults that are going to be the ones who are responsible for keeping them safe. And that said, are there things that they would like to be able to say, and to be heard based on their experience? So I think recognizing some ways and giving some ways that students can contribute their voice, their words, to people that are making decisions in this country, I think is really powerful both for healing and, for student action. So we might have like a table out at the yard time where people you know, can write letters, or for making a big poster about how we feel about an event or an experience, we might do that.
Tracy Kaplan 12:43
Any last thoughts to leave us with?
Abbie Gregor 12:45
Yes. For adults, I really would encourage you to follow your child's lead. We can give our kids opportunities to speak about things, but asking them permission, asking them if they would like to speak more about this is really important. And for kids, just keep being you. You're awesome. And you know how to take care of yourself and reach out for help if you need it. Because we're here for you.
Pamela Kirkland 13:17
Are you feeling a little better, Ryan?
Ryan Willard 13:20
I'm still a little overwhelmed. Can we take a little break?
Pamela Kirkland 13:23
Absolutely. How about 10 seconds of the sounds of rainforest.
Ryan Willard 13:30
Oh, that sounds perfect. And we're back. I feel refreshed. So let's talk about the helpers driving change. First off, in June of 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law a gun safety package passed by Congress. It wasn't as sweeping as President Biden requested. And it did not include a ban on assault weapons. But it was the first gun reform bill in decades.
Pamela Kirkland 14:09
Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that protect people from gun violence. Here's a clip from when we last spoke. How has Moms Demand Action grown as an organization? And what are some of the changes or any changes you've noticed and who's been, you know, joining the ranks in the past couple of years?
Shannon Watts 14:34
Well, because horrific shooting tragedies get so much national media attention. That's very often when people get involved in an organization, but also, we have lots of survivors in our organization who are part of the coalition. And very often parents join our organization and even students when they go to school and realize they're going to have to endure lockdown drills and that this is not normal, and we shouldn't have to live this sway. And we have really just grown exponentially. In the last nine years, as I said, we're now the largest grassroots movement in the country. We're not just moms were mothers and others, we're we're survivors and students. And it really does take every American using their voice on this issue in order to affect change.
Ryan Willard 15:19
And Mikayla Johnson, a student activist who had this to say, when we asked how students can drive change.
Mikayla Johnson 15:25
So one of the best things they can do is, of course, join students do in action. We are an amazing organization of student leaders 14 And up across the country. And it's really easy to get involved in a lot of our efforts. Okay, voter registration, we did a lot of voter registration. Last year, we registered over 100,000 voters for the presidential election, which was super awesome. And that's just an easy way for young kids to get involved just starting out, or even peer to peer text messaging, just about spreading the word about local gun violence, things that are happening in our communities, but things that are happening on a national level.
Ryan Willard 16:07
And as we were finishing this episode, we learned that Students Demand Action has organized a national student walkout for April 5th. The group says they're fed up with a lack of change and are protesting to help show their support for gun control.
Pamela Kirkland 16:20
And we'd like to leave you today with this comment from Shannon Watts when we asked her how we overcome frustration and keep pushing for change.
Shannon Watts 16:29
You know, activism is like drips on Iraq, and you have to show up over and over and over again. And when you lose, you still have to show up over and over and over again. And that's really how you force change in this country. I think if I learned anything in the last decade, it's that Congress is not where this work begins. It's where it ends.
Ryan Willard 16:59
Why are the lights of the trivia room all off?
Pamela Kirkland 17:01
Tracy sent Tessa home early. Instead of trivia Tracy asked that we end today's episode with a special note to our listeners.
Ryan Willard 17:09
Oh, right. I wrote it last night. Ten'ers, school shootings and gun violence of all kinds are sad, scary, frustrating and tragic events. Whatever your feeling is okay. We hope that today's episode helped you understand more about the conversations happening around us. We don't have the answers as to why this keeps happening and why someone would hurt someone else. What we do know is that it helps to talk about it and share how you're feeling with others.
Pamela Kirkland 17:35
You are part of our Ten News family. And we're here to answer your questions and keep you updated on any progress made to help keep us all safe.
Ryan Willard 17:48
Thank you for listening to The Ten News. Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in depth reports drop every Wednesday.
Pamela Kirkland 17:55
The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts.
Ryan Willard 18:00
The Ten News creative team is making sure to take mental health breaks and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, and Tessa Flannery.
Pamela Kirkland 18:07
Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan.
Ryan Willard 18:15
I'm Ryan Willard.
Pamela Kirkland 18:16
And I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thanks for listening to The Ten News and take care of yourselves!
