Students deserve safe communities, schools, and campuses that promote their learning and development.
Children and young people are surrounded by gun violence.
They are coming of age in an era of mass shootings, from grocery stores to Fourth of July parades. Massacres at Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Umpqua Community College, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Robb Elementary, and elsewhere have traumatized them, their families, and their educators.
Students should not have to endure drills on how to hide from mass murderers. Educators should not be forced to act as shields against assault weapons and make impossible choices about how to protect students from the worst horrors imaginable.
97Percent, a bipartisan gun safety organization, unveiled research in October 2022 revealing that 70 percent of gun owners favor laws that would reduce gun injuries and deaths. We must come together to pass commonsense reforms, such as a ban on assault weapons and background checks on gun show sales and transfers.
