We all mourn the tragic loss of life in Uvalde, Texas. 

The murder of 19 children and two teachers in yet another mass shooting at an American school is devastating. 

School violence is epidemic in our nation. 

There are no easy answers but the right answer is never to simply do nothing. 

We must not think the unthinkable could not happen here, in our community. The people of Uvalde probably never imagined such tragedy could occur at Robb Elementary. 

It is no surprise that the two teachers, Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia, who died appear to have been shielding children from the 18-year-old gunman when they were shot and killed. 

We all trust school teachers with our children every day and in so many ways they are heroes for the little, daily things they do but none of them should ever have to sacrifice their own lives. 

Teachers should not have to become security guards and schools should not have to be fortresses. 

Of course, given how violence has proliferated, school resource officers who are highly trained and skilled law enforcement professionals should be present in every single school building.

Every school system, boards of education, superintendents and school principals should be constantly reviewing and improving school safety measures. 

We must also accept the cold hard truth that mass shootings do not happen without guns. 

Republicans and Democrats do not seem to agree on much of anything but most Americans do support some form of common sense gun ownership reform.

Improved background checks, waiting periods, safety training requirements and even limits on high-capacity magazines are at least areas where reasonable women and men can begin to have the conversations. None of these ideas would abridge Second Amendment rights. We urge lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to put the lives of children above party, rhetoric and campaign funding and have honest, constructive dialogue around these issues. 

Gun ownership reform will not eliminate school violence, neither will more school resource officers, improved building security, social media monitoring and improved access to mental health care services, but all of these things must be a part of the conversation. 

The problem is that in the aftermath of such horrific murders our national reaction in the past has started and ended with conversations — talk, but no action. 

As previously said, there are no easy answers but, once again, doing nothing is never the right answer. 

Jim Zachary is the editor of the Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI’s director of newsroom training and development and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.