What a failure it is that we have to keep writing these articles. That we keep having to decry the same lack of action. That nothing has changed. That more and more people keep dying because of the American obsession with guns.

At least now it seems obvious to say that change is coming — not from our legislatures or our leaders, but from our youth who are rightfully tired and angry from living in fear and who overwhelmingly support gun reform.

When it comes to gun violence in America, some of the numbers are hard to comprehend.

In 2020, gun-related deaths became the leading killer of children in America.

In 2021, 3,597 children died by gunfire, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2022, there were 46 school shootings. Since 1999, more than 349,000 students have been present in a school when a shooting occurred. (Not necessarily a mass shooting, but simply being present in a school when a gun is fired can still be a traumatic incident.)

The first school shooting of 2023 occurred five days into the new year. Since then 17 more shootings have occurred, leaving 8 dead and 14 injured, according to a database maintained by the Washington Post. Already 18,160 students have been in a school when a shooting has occurred this year alone.

In February, when a gunman killed three and injured five at Michigan State University, it was the second school shooting that some students had endured.

The most recent school shooting was a mere 21 days ago, and if the trend continues the next won’t be far off.

More generally, according to the Gun Violence Archive, 11,897 people have died from gun-related injuries in 2023 alone. More than 150 mass shootings have taken place, and 73 kids and 418 teens have died from gun-related injuries.

These numbers, of course, highlight an entirely American problem. In countries comparable to America in demographics and wealth, the U.S. stands alone. The simple fact is that guns make it easier to kill people. And when guns are a part of the everyday equation, more people are likely to die — either accidentally or intentionally. Guns are meant to kill, and they do that job well.

These guns, though, don’t kill people on their own. It takes an individual with horrible intentions to kill. But here too America stands alone in the scale of our slaughter. Other countries have angry people. They have those seeking to cause terror or exact revenge and those in need of mental health treatment. But rarely are those people able to cause as much destruction as they can here with a military-style assault rifle.

Mental health must be part of any conversation about truly ending gun violence. But the fact remains that enacting gun control would be the most expedient and efficient way of ending the carnage.

(That said, this editorial board would love to see a state attempt to combat gun violence through a comprehensive and well-funded mental health program.)

We hear about gun violence — mass shootings and murders and suicides — so frequently that it has become normal. Nearly accepted. And humans, for all our flaws, are good at adapting. So we have, in a heartbreaking way, adapted to this unnecessary toll. We have learned to live our lives in the face of constant tragedy. We are resilient. But our resilience has allowed the destruction wrought by guns to become the status quo.

Thankfully, our youth have the vision and imagination to see through this and recognize the folly. They know that it should not be normal to be afraid at school. And they are getting angry that they must constantly live in fear.

Earlier this month, students around Boulder County participated in a national walkout to demand gun reform. The walkouts weren’t huge, just 200 schools nationwide, but they sparked headlines and showed that the younger generation is finding its voice politically.

“We shouldn’t be afraid to go to school and get killed,” Boulder High School sophomore Eliana Monahan told the Camera. “We had a scare a few months ago where we thought there was going to be a school shooting … and that shouldn’t be a fear that we have, that our friends and teachers are gonna get shot.”

In a similar show of frustration at the status quo of political inaction, two young lawmakers in Tennessee were expelled (and then reinstated) after leading a gun control protest on the House floor.

These two instances highlight what we hope is a growing youth movement. Political change often comes from the young who push the priorities of our political parties to better align with the priorities of society. It is not a speedy process, nor is it a smooth one. But, if history is anything to go by, gun reform will come.

Most Americans agree that we need more strict gun laws, but the margin is relatively slim, just 53%. When it comes to high schoolers, though, roughly 85% believe we need more strict gun laws, according to one national survey.

It is true, of course, that younger generations tend to vote less, and political races are usually heavily swayed by those over 50. But all that means is that change may be slow — if we continue to dig in our heels and cling to our guns in the face of logic and reason.

The point here, though, is simply that change is coming.

It will take work. Which means it is important that our younger generations not lose faith and continue to push and protest and make their voices heard — especially in the face of fierce resistance.

And as our students and younger generations continue to push for change, it is important that lawmakers take notice. Young voters may not make up the majority of the electorate, but someday they will — such is the nature of life. And when that day comes — and with it action on gun reform — those who dug in their heels and let tragedy after tragedy occur are likely to wind up on the wrong side of history — and out of office.

“If we don’t yell and have our voices out there, then they (government officials) are going to care even less, and there won’t be any pressure on them to do anything,” Monahan, the Boulder High School sophomore, said.

Change is coming. The question for today is whether or not we are brave enough to act, or whether the endemic of gun violence will just be another mess for our children to clean up.

Gary Garrison for the Editorial Board