Plenty of viral videos came out of last year’s special legislative session on gun violence, where Tennessee’s Republican lawmakers limited debate by Democratic lawmakers, limited public access to the Capitol, and limited the free speech of Tennesseans who’d gone there to make their voices heard. (This year they limited it further, by requiring a “ticket” from a state rep to sit in the public viewing area of the State House.)

The viral video that got me was of a college student reading a children’s book to lawmakers as they walked by. I recognized that book. Earlier that year, someone pregnant with her first child was shopping online and that book—Joaquin’s First School Shooting—popped up as a recommendation. She sent me a screenshot.

This is the hellscape we’re living in because one political party won’t stand up to the gun lobby. A college student whose entire generation has been traumatized by “run, hide, fight.” A pregnant woman reminded by an algorithm that her child will have to “run, hide, fight” soon too.

I didn’t just recognize the book the student was reading in the video. I also recognized one of the state reps walking past her. Two weeks earlier, in Chattanooga, I’d sat behind him at a gathering of citizens concerned about gun violence.

I give him credit for showing up to that gathering, considering that the gun lobby threatens Republican lawmakers with political retribution if they support even the most commonsense gun regulations, which by the way the majority of Tennessee voters support. (Pro tip for lawmakers: Don’t indebt yourself to a group that acts like the mob.)

But in the video he stares at that college student for a long, uncomfortable second, then quickly turns away and sips his coffee. He reaches out to slap a colleague on the shoulder. They chitchat. He smiles, looking relieved and comfortable again. 

Nothing’s going to change until we get these reps out of office. They don’t have the courage to stand up to the gun lobby. They barely have the courage to look us in the eye.