A funny thing happened during the current national scream that Congress must do something about gun violence. A Republican lawmaker made a common-sense statement about the limits of government and the left went nuts. Then, wonder of wonders, a Washington Post fact-checker agreed with him.

While Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) preens before television cameras and proclaims his own love of hunting and guns, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is held responsible for the horrific school shooting on Valentines Day in Parkland, Florida. Rubio accepts campaign donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA) so he must be vilified. The willing cohorts of the left, the media, are only too happy to advance the notion that the NRA is evil and must be relieved of its First Amendment rights.

So, when Rubio was asked about pursuing legislation – gun control measures – he answered with a question of his own: wouldn’t it be best to wait until all the facts are in before everyone starts demanding that something is done by the government? He dared to say that new legislation may not have stopped this latest tragedy.

“None of the major shootings that have occurred in this country over the last few months or years that have outraged us, would gun laws have prevented them.”

— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), interview on CBS’s “This Morning,” Dec. 4, 2015

The Washington Post went back to the Newtown shooting in 2012 and chose 12 mass shootings to analyze. Fact-checkers concluded that none of the shootings would have been avoided by passing new laws currently under discussion. What a disappointment that must have been to the newspaper.

I find it disturbing when children are used as political props. In this case, the trauma of a mass shooting in a high school has produced raw emotion in search of a release, as any of us can imagine. Sadly, the media exploits the students and families in shock and trying desperately to get a grip on their new reality. CNN is even promoting an upcoming town hall with elected officials and grieving families. Wow.

Back in olden times, when I was a school girl, we took a basic civics class to coincide with classes on government and U.S. history. To the determent of today’s students, civics class is a relic of the past no longer in the school curriculum and the result is the government is looked upon to have a solution for everything. With the Democrat party beholden to teachers unions, it is not surprising that outraged, grieving high school students are lashing out and demanding that government do something to solve a multi-tiered problem.

CNN’s Barbara Starr promoted this high school junior’s opinion on Twitter.

Parkland student: My generation won't stand for this (Opinion) https://t.co/4Fm3br6NJP

— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) February 17, 2018

While the 17-year-old does admit it is not solely the result of any Republican actions, he is able to work in his bias against social conservatives and unborn children, too. Well done, teachers unions!

Why? Because at the end of the day, the students at my school felt one shared experience — our politicians abandoned us by failing to keep guns out of schools.

But this time, my classmates and I are going to hold them to account. This time we are going to pressure them to take action. This time we are going to force them to spend more energy protecting human lives than unborn fetuses.

However, the shooter is not the only one responsible for this tragedy. While the alleged shooter may have had several issues, he also lived in a society where Sen. Marco Rubio refuses to take responsibility for the role gun culture may have played in this tragedy.

And there is no denying that the NRA continues to donate millions of dollars to politicians at every level of government. Then those politicians — often “family values” conservatives — rile up their base by making them think that “liberals” are going to take their guns away. Not knowing any better, some of these people stockpile guns in advance of a gun ban that never comes, and the gun manufacturers and the NRA make millions.

Gun violence does not go away with new laws. If that were the case, Chicago would be the safest city in the country. There is no single magic fix. Efforts must be made to enforce gun laws on the books, tighten background checks and any loopholes, strengthen families so that children can be raised in loving, two-parent homes and promote an emphasis on the sanctity of all life. Law enforcement efforts need to be strengthened, more security in schools and more resources for accessible mental health services. It’s a huge effort that needs to start.