It’s amazing how fast you can bike when you are afraid for your life. That was my experience this morning as I fearfully sped along the Chester Creek trail, relieved as I crested the hill and came out along A Street. I was happier to bike along the busy street rather than through our world-renowned trail system.
This past week, we saw two shootings that were committed by minors: A 12-year-old boy arrested in fatal shooting near the Chester Creek trail, and a boy, 16, killed a woman who was bound, shot and dumped near Thunderbird Falls.
The first shooting occurred mere blocks from my home, where I bike nearly every day of the summer. The shooting at Thunderbird Falls was also alarming, as I had just hiked that trail with my family two weekends ago, along with hundreds of other Alaskans out enjoying our beautiful home.
Can any of us feel safe now, with our children, on these trails? And are we going to relinquish our town and our children to the epidemic, the national emergency, that is gun violence?
Our children are dying and sometimes sometimes even doing the killing! It is unacceptable and we must act. Passing common-sense gun legislation and education parents on safe gun storage (like the Be SMART campaign) are great places to start. Lives are on the line.
— April Rochford
Moms Demand Action, Anchorage Local Group Leader
Anchorage
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