When 20 Children and six teachers were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary, many thought that was the final straw – something had to be done about how accessible guns are in this country … right? Children died after all. Many people thought there would be a strong drive for both main political parties to come together and do something about the increasingly fatal mass shootings in this country. But we quickly learned, we were wrong.

Now here we are, five years later facing the most devastating mass shooting in modern U.S. history. On Sunday night, a gunman opened fire during a country music festival in Las Vegas killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more.

Last summer when 49 people were killed at the Pulse nightclub in LA, we thought that was the worst shooting historically. And of course, we were hoping something like that would never happen again.

However, while many of us were hoping that was the last time something that devastating would happen, we knew there was a possibility it could because little to nothing has been done to fix our gun issues in this country. Now the collective frustration is at an all-time high.

We can blame the NRA and their influence on the Republican Party. We can blame hyper masculinity or our gun-centric society. We can even put the blame on Democrats as well, because quiet as it’s kept, they’re not ready to do anything serious about gun control either.

We will not however be blaming mental illness nor will we succumb to the aggressive humanization of the shooter. We will not look to the president to say something genuinely heartfelt and tasteful, because every time we do, he says something incredibly insensitive and offensive and then people act surprised when he does.

But there are things we can and will do.

We can contact our local politicians — though in California, we already have some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. We can sign petitions and we can donate. We can hold protests and vigils memorializing the victims.

While there is only so much people can do, we do encourage you to not lose hope and believe that we can make the U.S. a safer place.  

Those looking for information regarding missing persons in the Las Vegas area can call 1-800-536-9488. To donate to the families of the Las Vegas shooting, Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak set up a fund at www.gofundme.com/dr2ks2-las-vegas-victims-fund.