Hope in the Context of Gun Violence

Guest Opinion

By Quinn De Vecchi | Nov. 8, 2025

What does it mean to have hope in the context of gun violence? Does it mean painting or writing poems about change; going to church and praying for victims; looking at the Time cover of five Parkland shooting survivors every morning?

Three panelists at the Central United Methodist Church in Traverse City said yes.

Just a month ago, my group of Students Demand Action—a gun violence prevention chapter under the larger Everytown organization—at Interlochen visited the church for a panel about that initial question. And we wondered about it ourselves, too. What does it mean to have hope? Is it even possible to have that type of hope when thousands of people die from guns every year?

Former Traverse City mayor and Moms Demand Action (MDA) advocate, Jim Carruthers, says hope is possible. During his speech, he continually waved toward my group of friends, saying, “I have hope because you kids are here. You’re the next generation.”

Every morning when he goes to get coffee, or make breakfast, Carruthers comes across a Time magazine stand-up cover he’d put there years before: five Parkland shooting survivors staring at the camera, the words “ENOUGH” emblazoned across them. This reminder of the tragedy (but also of the activism from “the next generation”) helps Carruthers remember what he is fighting for: the survival of kids in high schools.

The lead cause of death for children isn’t car accidents, poisoning, or even cancer—it’s guns. In 2023, over 4,000 kids died from firearms from CDC data. That’s almost six kids per 100,000. And it’s only getting higher.

So far in 2025, there have been at least 141 gun incidents on school grounds alone, states Everystat (an organization under Everytown for gun violence statistics). Ten years ago, in 2015, there were only 66 gun incidents at schools. That’s a 113 percent increase in school shootings and gun violence.

To speak more on the “youth” side of things, Alisha McMillan was part of the panel. She’s a current creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA) and the leader alongside me for IAA’s SDA chapter.

She started with speaking about Oxford High School’s shooting—the reason she joined SDA and began advocating for more gun safety. It was the first time she had ever witnessed a “true” school shooting, and it changed her life completely. She began joining protest after protest to demand for better protection from guns.

On hope, McMillan also believes in using art as a way to cope and make a change. “[At IAA’s SDA] we focus on how to heal as a community,” she said. “Art is a way to express [how you feel] without words—because when our words fail us, what else do we turn to?”

Alisha’s main focus at IAA’s SDA chapter is focusing on better gun protection and stronger gun laws.

And better gun policies do make for safer, less gun violent states. For example, California is the leading state with strong gun laws, and has a “gun violence rating” of eight gun deaths per 100,000 residents. Massachusetts is the second strongest, but they used to be ranked fifth last year. After passing more gun safety laws, their gun violence rating is only 3.7 per 100,000 residents, one of the lowest counts.

Vice versa, Missipissi has the among the weakest gun safety legislature. They have about 29.4 deaths per 100,000 due to gun violence. That’s 15.7 deaths over the national average.

Reverend Dr. Craig Hexham, another MDA member, and the last panelist, demanded that we “end unfettered access to firearms.” His father, a war veteran, died 56 years ago from a gun. Hexham started his speech by saying he couldn’t believe that he’s outlived him.

He finds hope in praying and going to church (which led to a cry of “Amen!” in the crowd). At the same time, he finds it hard to believe in “hope in the context of gun violence.” To him, more people are dying each year, and it seems that no one is paying attention.

After leaving the panel, my friends and I congratulated Alisha and the other panelists. We all took a photo together. When walking out, the church had put up a sign that listed the deaths of people from gun violence in 2025. 10,564 adults and 982 children. Like Hexham, I wondered how many deaths it would take before the United States would actually take action.

Quinn De Vecchi is a creative writing senior at Interlochen Arts Academy.