During my children’s spring break this year, I took them to the zoo, purchasing tickets in advance due to the limited capacity for social distancing. I ensured they wore their masks properly, despite my son’s complaints about discomfort. We sanitized our hands before and after our visit, doing everything possible to shield them from the ongoing pandemic.
As we watched the lions, my phone buzzed with a news alert—another shooting. Innocent lives lost in a city far away. Instinctively, I scanned the area, seeking to protect my children. Despite all the precautions, they were still at risk. Alongside the pandemic we strive to guard against, America grapples with a gun violence epidemic that masks and sanitizers cannot shield them from. The alarming reality is that children exploring a zoo are not immune; if violence can erupt in a grocery store or nightclub, it can happen here.
It feels as though we barely finish offering our “thoughts and prayers” for one tragedy before another strikes. Just recently, on the night of April 15th, a gunman opened fire at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, resulting in eight fatalities and at least seven injuries. This incident follows a series of mass shootings, including the tragic events in Atlanta and Colorado, and a shooting in Southern California that claimed four lives, including that of a nine-year-old boy.
The pervasive issue of gun violence has united former congresswoman Lily Johnson, Peter Ambler, the executive director of the organization Giffords, and former state senator Greg Mitchell for a discussion with the Washington Post about safeguarding children from the physical and emotional impacts of gun violence in the U.S.
The Extent of Gun Violence
The statistics are staggering. Between 2015 and 2018, around 35,000 children were shot before turning eighteen. Ambler states that firearms are the “third leading cause of death among young people” in America. Since the Columbine shooting, approximately 150,000 children have been exposed to gun violence in schools. However, the threat extends beyond educational institutions; children encounter domestic violence, community aggression, and risks of unintentional shootings and firearm-related suicides in numerous environments.
Impact of Gun Violence on Children
“Seventeen percent of American teenagers have experienced gun violence in various forms,” Ambler reports, noting that forty percent of these individuals may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unfortunately, this PTSD often goes untreated. “The issue transcends shootings; it encompasses the anxiety and cascading effects on children,” emphasized Robyn Green, executive director of the Giffords Law Center, in a previous interview regarding the mental health repercussions of gun violence on youth.
Legislative Solutions: Universal Background Checks
The solution to the gun violence crisis lies not in more lockdown drills or active shooter training, but in legislative reforms that restrict firearm access. Ambler remarks, “Increased access to firearms correlates with rising community violence and school shootings.” Recently, President Biden signed an executive order aimed at addressing gun violence, but substantial reform must originate from Congress.
A widely supported reform is the implementation of universal background checks. “Universal background checks are the most significant step we can take to reduce gun violence in this country and address it as the public health crisis it is,” Ambler asserts. He highlighted that background checks would prevent children from acquiring guns and hinder the trafficking of firearms from states with lax laws to those with stricter regulations.
At the local level, he advocated for child access prevention laws, which require gun owners to secure their firearms away from children.
The Importance of Voting for Gun Reform
For effective legislative reform, we need politicians willing to take a stand. Although a majority of Americans support stricter gun laws, many Republican representatives remain hesitant to act. Former Senator Mitchell believes this issue starts at the primary election level. He explained that candidates fear losing their seats in primaries more than in general elections, leading them to cater to voters who are often less supportive of gun control. He argues that moderate, suburban voters, particularly concerned parents, must engage and vote in primaries to influence change.
It’s heartbreaking to think our children may grow up in a world where no place feels truly safe, where gun violence can strike anywhere. As we cautiously emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must confront the underlying epidemic of gun violence that continues to affect our children, which has largely gone unaddressed. It is time to take action.
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Summary:
This article discusses the ongoing gun violence crisis in America, highlighting the alarming statistics related to children and gun violence. It emphasizes the need for legislative reforms, particularly universal background checks, to protect children from this epidemic. Advocates, including former congresswoman Lily Johnson and Peter Ambler, stress the importance of political engagement to drive meaningful change.
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Gun violence, children safety, Lily Johnson, Peter Ambler, universal background checks, legislative reform, mental health, PTSD, voting for gun reform.