In the United States, a country that claims to value its future generations, we face a devastating reality: our children are paying the price for our obsession with guns. The country’s latest tragedy — the deaths this week in Georgia of two children and two teachers when a 14-year-old opened fire at his high school just days into the new school year — makes clear that America’s gun culture, rooted in a history of violence and oppression, continues to harm our most vulnerable citizens – our kids.
A legacy of violence
The story of America’s relationship with firearms begins with colonization, a violent process that displaced Indigenous peoples and their children from their ancestral lands. This legacy of violence, enshrined in the Second Amendment, continues to shape our society today, with our children often caught in the crossfire.
The Second Amendment, far from being solely about individual liberty, was inextricably linked to the preservation of slavery and white supremacy. The amendment’s reference to a “well-regulated militia” was, in large part, a means of ensuring the continuation of slave patrols in the South. These patrols had three primary functions:
- To chase down, apprehend, and return runaway slaves to their owners.
- To provide a form of organized terror to deter slave revolts.
- To maintain a form of discipline for enslaved workers who were subject to summary justice outside the law.
These patrols not only terrorized enslaved adults but also tore families apart, separating children from their parents and subjecting them to unimaginable trauma.
A national emergency
Today, the impact of America’s gun culture on children is stark and horrifying. In 2020, firearms became the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States, surpassing motor vehicle accidents. This statistic alone should be a national emergency, yet our policies remain largely unchanged.
The toll on children goes beyond just fatalities. Countless kids are injured by guns each year, often leading to lifelong physical and psychological trauma. Even children who aren’t directly injured are affected. The constant threat of gun violence in schools, playgrounds, and neighborhoods robs children of their sense of safety and can have long-lasting impacts on their mental health and development.
In addition to the gun violence that regularly stalks children who are out in the world — playing, going to school and just being children — the militarization of American policing means violence can even find them in their own homes. Consider the heartbreaking story of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a 7-year-old Black girl killed in 2010 during a police raid in Detroit. Aiyana was sleeping on the couch with her grandmother when a SWAT team burst into their home, throwing a flash-bang grenade that landed on her blanket. In the chaos that followed, an officer’s gun discharged, fatally shooting Aiyana in the head. The police were looking for a murder suspect who lived in the upstairs unit of the duplex – not in Aiyana’s home. This tragic case underscores the brutal reality that even in their own homes, engaged in the most innocent of activities – sleeping – Black children are not safe from the deadly consequences of America’s militarized policing and gun culture. Aiyana’s story sends a chilling message to Black children across America: your childhood innocence, your very existence in a place that should be safe, will not protect you.
The impact of gun violence on children is not distributed equally
Black children are disproportionately affected, being 10 times more likely to die from gun violence than white children. This disparity is a direct result of systemic racism, which has its roots in the same historical forces that shaped the Second Amendment.
Even in their own homes, many children are not safe from the threat of guns. Accidental shootings involving children finding unsecured firearms are tragically common. Moreover, the presence of a gun in the home significantly increases the risk of successful suicide attempts among adolescents struggling with mental health issues.
Our current policies are failing to protect our children. Despite widespread public support for stricter gun laws, organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) continue to obstruct meaningful reform. Their influence in politics, bought with millions in campaign contributions, consistently outweighs the voices of parents, teachers, and children themselves who are calling for change.
An overhaul of our system
Addressing this crisis requires more than piecemeal legislation. We need a fundamental overhaul of our system, one that prioritizes the safety and well-being of our children over the profits of gun manufacturers and the misguided notion of unrestricted gun rights.
This overhaul should include:
- Comprehensive gun safety legislation, including universal background checks, safe storage laws, and bans on assault weapons.
- Increased funding for mental health services in schools and communities.
- Investment in violence prevention programs that address the root causes of gun violence affecting children.
- A re-examination of the Second Amendment in light of its historical context and the current crisis facing our children.
- Systemic police reform to prevent tragedies like the killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones and countless other children.
- Economic initiatives to address poverty and inequality, which often expose children to higher risks of gun violence.
As adults, we have a moral obligation to protect our children. Here are some actions we can take:
- Educate ourselves and others about the true impact of gun violence on children in America.
- Support organizations working to prevent gun violence and promote child safety.
- Engage in and promote critical discussions about the need for systemic change in our approach to gun rights and public safety, always centering the well-being of children.
- Participate in direct action and civil disobedience when necessary to demand change that protects our kids.
America’s relationship with guns is literally killing our children.
By honestly confronting this reality and its historical roots, we can work toward solutions that truly protect the next generation. The path forward requires more than just dialogue or incremental change – it demands a fundamental reimagining of our society, one that values the lives and futures of our children above all else.
Our children deserve to grow up in a country where they don’t have to fear for their lives at school, in their neighborhoods, or even in their own homes. It’s time we prioritize their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness over anyone’s right to own a gun. The future of our nation depends on it.