During my children’s spring break, we visited the zoo. I pre-purchased tickets to adhere to social distancing guidelines and ensured my kids wore their masks, even though my son claims it feels “unbearable.” I made certain we sanitized our hands thoroughly before and after our visit. I took every precaution to protect them from the ongoing pandemic.
As we observed the lions, my phone buzzed with a news alert—another shooting incident. Lives lost while people were simply going about their day in yet another city. My instinct was to scan the area, to keep my children safe. Despite all my safety measures, the stark reality is that they still might not be safe. In America, the risk of gun violence looms large, and no amount of sanitation or masking can shield them from it. The painful truth is that children visiting a zoo may not be safe; if violence can erupt in a grocery store or a nightclub, it can happen anywhere—even at a zoo.
We often offer “thoughts and prayers” in the wake of gun violence, but it seems like there’s barely time to catch our breath before another tragedy strikes. Just recently, on April 15th, a shooter opened fire in an Indianapolis FedEx facility, leaving eight people dead and injuring at least seven others. This incident follows a string of mass shootings in recent weeks, including those in Atlanta, Colorado, and Southern California, where lives were brutally taken.
This pervasive issue of gun violence is what brought together former Congresswoman Laura Simmons, executive director of the Giffords organization, along with Peter Ambler, co-founder of the same organization, and former South Carolina state legislator Greg Lewis. They sat down with the Washington Post to discuss the urgent need to protect children from the physical and emotional impacts of gun violence in the U.S.
The Alarming Reality of Gun Violence
The statistics are staggering. Between 2015 and 2018, over 35,000 children were shot before they turned eighteen. According to Ambler, firearms are the “third leading cause of death among young people” in our country. Since the Columbine tragedy, a shocking 150,000 children have faced gun violence in schools. Yet, the threat isn’t confined to educational settings. Children in America are exposed to domestic violence, community violence, accidental shootings, and firearm-related suicides.
In essence, kids encounter guns in far too many environments and situations.
The Mental Health Consequences of Gun Violence
“Seventeen percent of teenagers in America have experienced gun violence in some form,” Ambler notes, adding that nearly forty percent of those affected may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Often, this PTSD goes untreated. “The issue extends beyond shootings; it encompasses the anxiety and the ripple effects on children,” Robyn Adams, executive director of the Giffords Law Center, explained in a 2018 interview regarding the mental health repercussions of gun violence on youth.
The Push for Universal Background Checks
The solution to this crisis is not to conduct more active shooter drills or lockdown procedures. What we need is legislative reform to make firearms less accessible. Ambler emphasizes that easier access to guns correlates with increased community violence and school shootings.
Recently, President Johnson signed an executive order to address gun violence, but it falls short of what is needed. Real change requires action from Congress. A key reform many advocate for is universal background checks. Ambler states, “[U]niversal background checks are the most significant measure we can implement to reduce gun violence rates and treat this issue as a public health crisis.” Background checks can prevent children from obtaining firearms and stop the trafficking of guns from states with lax laws to those with stricter regulations.
On a local level, Ambler also supports child access laws that restrict gun owners from allowing their children access to firearms.
The Importance of Participating in Primaries for Gun Reform
For genuine legislative change, we need lawmakers willing to take action. While a majority of Americans support gun control measures, many Republican officials remain unresponsive. Former Senator Lewis points out that the issue often begins in the primary election process, where candidates fear losing their seats to more radical opponents. Thus, they cater to the hard-right voters, who generally oppose gun control.
He believes that moderate voters, particularly concerned suburban mothers, must engage and vote in primaries to influence change.
It’s heartbreaking to think that our children grow up in a world where they may never feel entirely safe, with gun violence posing a threat everywhere. As we cautiously move toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s disheartening to recognize that a pervasive national crisis affecting our children remains largely unaddressed. It’s time we confront it head-on.
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In summary, gun violence continues to be a significant issue in America, affecting the safety and mental health of children. Legislative reforms, such as universal background checks and child access laws, are crucial in addressing this public health crisis. Engagement from moderate voters in the political process is essential to drive meaningful change.
Keyphrase: America’s gun violence crisis
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