To: Congress

From: Annie

October 2017

Dear Congress, my name is Annie, and I have a question for you. Why did you let them kill me?

I used to have a mom and dad who loved me very much, and I loved them just as much. My grandparents loved me, my aunts and uncles loved me, and my brother and sister loved me too. I won’t get to see any of them anymore, and they will only be able to see me when they come to the cemetery and stand by my grave. I will never get to talk to any of them or see any of them again, and that makes them all very sad. Why did you let them kill me?

I used to go to Springfield Elementary School. I took all kind of classes there. I really liked some of them. I loved my art class, and I loved my science class, and I loved my reading class. Some of the other classes weren’t that great, but it doesn’t matter anymore because I can’t go to class ever again. Why did you let them kill me?

I used to live in a nice little house with my family, and when I was done with my homework and my chores I would go over to my friend’s house, or she would come over to my house, and we would play and talk until it was time to go home. We were friends for as long as I can remember. We always had a great time together, and that’s very sad because I can’t play with her ever again. Why did you let them kill me?

I had been talking with my parents and my friends about what I wanted to do when I grew up. My mom is a teacher, and my dad is a police officer. I thought I might want to be a teacher, or a doctor, or someone like that who helps other people out. My dad said being a police officer was a great job but that it could be very dangerous and he never wanted anything to happen to me. So he didn’t want me to do that. None of that matters now, though, because I’m dead. Why did you let them kill me?

Tomorrow would have been my birthday. My mom was so excited about it. She was planning such a big party and all my friends were going to be there. We were going to have cake and ice cream and have a big sleepover. I would have been ten years old, but now that will never happen, because I’m dead. Why did you let them kill me?

I won’t be able to see my family again, go to school again, play with my friends again, or do anything at all, ever again, because I was shot and killed today. I wasn’t the only one. A whole lot of other people got shot and killed too. I am sure the news people were all there after it happened, and all the families of the people who got killed went there because they were so scared some of the dead people were in their family.

I’m sure you didn’t go there, though. I’m sure you said something like we shouldn’t talk about guns now, or these things are just going to happen and we need to get used to it, or we need to roll up in a ball and get small and hope you don’t get shot. I think that is just terrible. My mom and dad thought those were some of the worst things they ever heard. But I guess you just don’t care about kids like me getting shot for no reason.

Why did you let them kill me?

Why do you let them keep killing so many people?

Why don’t you ever, ever, ever do anything about it? That’s your job, so why do you keep not doing it?

Even when other people in Congress get shot, you didn’t do anything.

Even when whole bunches of little kids got shot and killed at their schools, you didn’t do anything.

It must make you happy to see so many people get shot and killed every day, because you never, never, never do anything about it. Do you only take campaign contributions from the gun people or do you take them from the people who run cemeteries and do funerals too? Must be all of them, I suppose. My parents always called it blood money. Now I know what they mean. You get money while little kids bleed to death.

Maybe if you had to visit all the graves of the people who were shot to death, and talk to all the families who lost loved ones, you might finally do something.

Or maybe not.

Annie