They just walked out. Today, legislators in a second state got up and walked out. What a poor example this sets for the children who are watching the situation play out. It’s never okay to abandon a responsibility, particularly a civic responsibility bestowed upon so very few citizens. Leadership happens when ordinary people take a seemingly impossible situation and find a way to solve a problem that no one else even dared to dream. It happens when you work behind the scenes to mediate with all parties involved and navigate new paths down which former adversaries can walk side by side. Democracy is messy work. Who is going to stand up, stretch out a hand to the other side and commit to finding a solution to these difficult problems? No one has come out ahead in this situation, especially not our children.