In all honesty, gun violence is an issue that used to be overlooked until now. I am proud, as a student, fighting for my life while pushing for reform in gun legislation. But the citizens who could have voted should have done more since the start. However, these movements — #ENOUGH, Never Again, March For Our Lives — are the beginnings of a revolution.

I march so I can see a positive change in our future, a future where students aren’t afraid to go to school, wondering if they should duck and cover whenever they hear a noise coming from the hallway. A future where young black boys can walk the streets freely with their hoods on, not because they are trying to cover their faces suspiciously but because they want to cover their heads for warmth. A future where the United States of America is actually known as the land of the free and the home of the brave. A future where we are all seen as equals, and guns are not more important than our [students’] lives. I have had enough of the gun violence happening in our nation. We have seen these tragedies reoccurring, and Congress has done nothing to prevent them.

Common-sense gun laws are about having stricter gun regulations, such as having background checks and safety training. Because technology is constantly evolving, there are solutions like creating smart guns. As someone who did not grow up in a family with gun influences, I do not see a reason for guns. However, I understand that there are people who grew up in families where hunting is their family tradition or people who went through experiences where they needed protection, so a gun is their form of self-defense. I don’t want this movement to be about excluding those who grew up in those traditions or need that extra protection, but I want this movement to be more about taking precautions to who are these guns going to, and to ensure that schools, communities, workforces and public places are safer.

Although the Founding Fathers made the second amendment, stating that it is our right to “bear arms,” they might not have foreseen the advancements of gun technology, like costuming a gun to be semi-automatic. I believe the safety of the students and their lives are more important than owning a gun. By having common-sense gun laws, it will hopefully lead to less gun violence. Our society must remember that gun violence is not only the cause of mass shootings, but it is also the reason why there is such a high death rate in suicides (more than half of deaths by suicide in 2016 involved firearms).

Even if change is not made after this march, I will continue to link arms in solidarity with my brothers and sisters, the victims and survivors, my classmates and teachers by organizing and participating in future walkouts and marches. At the end of the day, I want this movement to unify us all as one nation, because we are the future generation. The youth are the face of this movement, and we are the change.

Kailen is in 10th grade at Etowah High School and one of the organizers of March For Our Lives Atlanta.