Grace Fischer, a survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, will be voting in her first presidential election this November. Fischer was just 6 years old when a gunman killed 20 first graders and six educators at her school in 2012. Since then, she has watched as numerous similar shootings have occurred in schools across the country. Despite the lack of significant legislative action following the Newtown tragedy, Fischer and her peers are hopeful that they can effect change through their votes.
Activists had hoped that the Sandy Hook shooting would be a turning point in addressing gun violence, but major federal bills proposing bans on semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines have failed to materialize. Meanwhile, mass shootings have become more frequent and deadly. Fischer and other survivors are now looking to Vice President Kamala Harris as a candidate who prioritizes gun safety measures.
Harris’ plan includes banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, implementing universal background checks, and supporting red flag laws. These initiatives differ from the approach of Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, who have downplayed school shootings as a “fact of life” that require bolstering security rather than stricter firearms restrictions.
Fischer and her fellow survivors are determined to honor the memory of their lost classmates and educators by voting for candidates who prioritize gun safety laws in order to prevent school shootings from becoming the norm. Despite the lack of significant legislative progress, there is momentum and will among young voters like Fischer to push for change and ensure that tragedies like Sandy Hook do not happen again.
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