Local Opinion: Sadly, we expect gun violence at our schools. But we don't accept it.

A feeling of bliss overflows students all across the nation every time the school year draws to a close and summer vacation creeps closer. But for the 19 children massacred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, their bliss was cut short.

We are high school students in Tucson, and watching children being slaughtered in their own schools makes us afraid. As students, our safety, our lives, our futures remain uncertain as gun violence surges in America.

For us and our classmates, these tragedies no longer surprise us, we expect them. But we must not accept school shootings as the new normal. Shootings like the one that took the lives of these children in Uvalde are not inevitable — not in Texas, not anywhere.

As far as we can see, there is an established pattern: The more accessible guns are, the more violent shootings that arise. We need stronger gun safety laws to protect us when we go to class.

The Uvalde shooting came nearly a decade after a gunman killed 20 small children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, making the shooting in Uvalde the second-deadliest at an elementary, middle, or high school on record in the United States. Last fall, we were horrified by the mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan. NPR reported that Uvalde was the 27th school shooting so far this year.

On an average day in the United States, at least 35 people are murdered with a gun, according to the New York Times. So far this year, 213 mass shootings have taken place. Just a few weeks ago, we saw the grocery store shooting in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York.

We must realize that this is not normal. No other industrialized nation in the world has a gun homicide rate nearly as high or has mass shootings at a similar frequency.

It is far too easy for high-risk individuals like the 18-year-old shooter at Uvalde to legally get their hands on destructive weapons. Republican officials and NRA advocates may claim that “a lack of security in public spaces” is the cause of such tragic events, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is how easily these young and unstable individuals can get assault weaponry that is designed to maximize casualties and wreak havoc.

The state of Texas, especially, has very few gun restrictions compared to the rest of the country. Last summer, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill, despite objections from law enforcement agencies, that allowed anyone 21 years and older to carry a handgun in public without a permit or training. With laws like that, there can be no oversight over whether dangerous people like the 18-year-old at Uvalde abuse their weapons.

Giving weapons to teachers and staff is not the answer. What reassurance do parents have knowing their children spend eight hours a day with an armed gunman as a teacher? That’s not in the job description. They aren’t paid enough for this. No amount of money will ever be enough.

In order to keep school shootings like Uvalde from happening again, we must prioritize prevention and that begins with addressing the threat firearms pose when they are in the hands of young, dangerous people who have no training.

The Sandy Hook shooting was almost a decade ago, and it was considered a turning point in the gun violence prevention movement. We are now at another critical point.

It is time to voice our dissatisfaction with the laws and policies of this nation. We must demand change.

So join us as we rally and as we march all over the country on Saturday, June 11. If you’re in Tucson, join us at El Presidio Plaza as we rally from 5-7 p.m. Volunteer to register people to vote. If you haven’t yet, register yourself to vote. We can’t do this alone.

For more information on March for Our Lives Tucson, visit marchtucson.com.