At first glance, this mom’s Facebook post just looks like a typical photo of her daughter doing something wacky. That’s why Stacey Feeley snapped the photo. But the truth of the matter is absolutely heartbreaking; Feeley’s daughter was practicing something she learned during an active shooter drill in school. Feeley’s post along with her diatribe about the fear that parents feel in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting (and the seemingly endless wave of smaller shootings).
“I took this picture because initially I thought it was funny. I was going to send it to my husband to show what our mischievous little three-year-old was up to. However, The moment she told me what she was doing I broke down,” Feely wrote. “She was practicing for a lockdown drill at her preschool and what you should do if you are stuck in a bathroom. At that moment all innocence of what I thought my three-year-old possessed was gone.”
She then turns the conversation toward moving forward on gun control measures, calling out politicians who are wary of making any change.
“Politicians – take a look. This is your child, your children, your grandchildren,” she said. “They will live their lives and grow up in this world based on your decisions. They are barely 3 and they will hide in bathroom stalls standing on top of toilet seats.”
Feeley also deftly shuts down any defeatists or people who would argue for the status quo.
“No one thinks gun control will be 100% crime control. But maybe, just maybe, it helps 1% or 2% or 50%? Who knows unless we try?” she asked. “Where’s the evolution of our so called ‘living document’ for this subject matter?”
Considering that the idea of even a brief moratorium on the types of weapons used in this particular attack causes such anger, change of any sort is going to be hard. Feeley is right to be a bit angry, we’re going to need that type of drive if we want any restrictions on guns to make it through.