Opinion | America grieves again and again. Other countries act.

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I was 8 years old on April 20, 1999, when 12 children and one teacher were killed by two gunmen at Columbine High school in Littleton, Colo. I don’t have specific memories of the day, because in my kid brain Colorado was so far away from Minnesota, and death was something I only was just beginning to understand. And yet it’s one of my earliest memories because I could feel the fear and sadness of the adults around me.

Next week I turn 35. And on Aug. 27, two children were killed and 18 people were injured by a shooter in south Minneapolis, less than three miles from my home. I saw the ambulances speeding up and down Lyndale Avenue S. It was in my city. And I’m no longer a kid. I am the adult. And while I am fearful and sad, I’m mostly really, really angry.

Angry because I spent my grade-school years learning active-shooter drills and plotting out what I’d do “if the worst happened,” while certain politicians shook hands with and took checks from leaders of the NRA.

Angry because the kids today are still plotting their way to safety.

Angry because my friends and family who are teachers stress over how to keep their students safe, while I worry about their safety.

New Zealand did something. In Christchurch in 2019, 51 people were killed and 40 injured in an attack on two mosques. Less than a month after the attack, Parliament voted 119-1 to introduce a nationwide ban on semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles.

The U.K. did something. In Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996, a gunman entered a school and killed 16 students, a teacher and injured 15 others. By the next year, Parliament had banned private ownership of most handguns and semi-automatic weapons, and required mandatory registration for shotgun owners. The U.K. hasn’t had a school shooting since.

Norway did something. In 2011, after creating chaos by detonating a bomb, an attacker used a semi-automatic to kill 69 people. Including the casualties from the bomb, he killed 77 people total. While Norway already had strict gun laws, they passed a ban on semi-automatic weapons in 2018, which went into effect in 2021.

Those countries still have people who wish to harm others. But those people will have a hell of a time getting their hands on a semi-automatic weapon to do so.

With all this evidence as to what works, every time there’s another shooting in the U.S. I’m baffled that we’re having the same conversations: “The U.S. is the only place this happens,” “Why haven’t we been able to stop mass shootings?” etc. But what 8-year-old me wants to know is: “Why haven’t we done anything yet?”

We cannot wait 27 more years for another 35-year-old to ask: “Why haven’t we done anything yet?”