Our Children Deserve More Than Thoughts and Prayers

We are heartbroken. We are horrified. And we are angry.

Once again, families are facing the unimaginable.

Once again, a school community has been shattered by gun violence.

Once again, parents are confronting the nightmare of sending their children to school without knowing whether they will come home.

This is not normal. This is not inevitable. And this must never become acceptable.

At Little Lobbyists, we fight every day for children with disabilities and complex medical needs. We fight for their right to education, healthcare, inclusion, dignity, and the opportunity to live full lives.

But none of those rights mean anything if our children cannot safely walk through the doors of their schools.

For disabled children, the terror of school shootings carries additional layers of vulnerability. Some children cannot run. Some cannot hide. Some cannot communicate their fear or call for help. Some depend on mobility devices, medical equipment, or caregivers to survive.

What happens to the child who cannot evacuate? Who cannot follow a lockdown instruction? Who cannot physically reach safety without assistance?

These are not hypothetical questions. They are questions that demand answers, planning, and action.

We refuse to accept a world where children are taught how to barricade classroom doors before they are old enough to understand why someone would want to hurt them.

We refuse to accept that educators must prepare to sacrifice their lives simply by showing up to do their jobs.

And we refuse to accept that another community must bury its loved ones before meaningful change is even discussed.

Our children are not collateral damage. Their lives are not an acceptable price for inaction.

We stand with the Oregon community in grief, in solidarity, and in the demand for a future where children can learn without fear.

And today, we demand more than condolences.

We demand meaningful action to prevent gun violence. We demand accountability from those responsible for protecting our communities. We demand school safety plans that include children with disabilities and complex medical needs. We demand that the safety of children be treated as a fundamental responsibility, not an afterthought.

On October 15, a gunman entered a classroom for children with disabilities at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. Three children, ages 5, 8, and 11, and a teacher were killed. Another child and teacher were critically injured.

The fact that this violence unfolded in a classroom serving children with disabilities makes this tragedy especially devastating to our community.

These children deserved accommodations, not ammunition. They deserved classrooms filled with opportunity, not terror. They deserved futures.

We honor the lives stolen, the educators who demonstrated extraordinary courage, and the families whose worlds have been forever changed.

But honoring them must mean more than remembering them.

It must mean building a country where this does not happen again.

We cannot keep asking children to be brave in a world where adults have failed to keep them safe.

We cannot keep calling these tragedies unimaginable when we have witnessed them again and again.

Our children deserve better. Our teachers deserve better. Our families deserve better.

Grief is not enough. Outrage is not enough. Thoughts and prayers are not enough.

We need action. We need accountability. We need change.

And we need it before another child's name becomes a headline.

Because the right to life, the right to education, and the right to safety belong to EVERY child. No exceptions.

It should not be easier to get a gun than an IEP.