Parkland Students Seem to Be Ignoring the Issue That Sparked the Shooting at Their School: They Could Be Leading the Charge Against Bullying, Which Takes Place at All Schools and in All Settings, But They’re Focused on One Aspect of a Larger Problem

I remain deeply troubled over the gun control debate that has taken up all the air in the room and left little energy to address a much more serious problem that affects far more students than gun violence has.   The issue is bullying, which has sparked the much-talked about attacks on schools.

By all means, ban the AR-15 and other military-grade assault rifles.  There.  Done.

Now, what about the bullying?   I have yet to hear a single word from these student groups doing all the yammering about the NRA and the evil guns.   But what about the evil actions of others that affect 1 in 3 students in the form of bullying?

The exact number of suicides that are directly attributable to bullying is unknown, but it’s in the thousands per year.   One statistic said that there were over 4,000 student-aged suicides in 2014 that were directly attributed to bullying.    If this boils down to sheer numbers, far more students die from bullying than from gun violence in the schools.   When will we start discussing that as a society and quit blaming the NRA for everything in sight?