OPINION: We need to do more to combat gun violence — and other issues

An 11-year-old fourth grader in Uvalde, Texas, smeared herself with her dead classmate’s blood so that the shooter in her school would not return and shoot her. In this month alone, we have seen two teens, barely old enough to vote, shoot more than 30 people, including children. I am outraged that, once again, elected leaders from the GOP are offering only thoughts and prayers while extolling the rights of gun owners to own any weapon they choose, even those whose sole purpose is to kill humans.

Thus far, thoughts and prayers have not ended school or grocery store or night club or movie theater shootings in this country. The United States has more mass shootings than any other country.

There is no magic wand we can wave that would address these atrocities but doing nothing has certainly not worked. Defunding research around gun violence has not helped to inform us about ways to address both the violence and the reasons 18-year-old teenagers would commit these crimes.

However, the problem goes well beyond these mass shootings, defined as an incident in which four or more people are killed in the same or nearby location. According to a CDC report, in 2020, firearm related deaths became the leading cause of death among persons 1 to 19 years of age. This includes suicide, homicide, unintentional, and undetermined deaths.

I am outraged. I am running for the U.S. Senate to add another voice to the effort to protect our children. I am running for the U.S. Senate to help to find ways to end this carnage. I am running for the U.S. Senate to turn our attention to our children and their futures.

As a lifelong educator, I understand the power of schooling. I also understand the power of the learning that surrounds all of us outside our classrooms. We are besieged by lies, misinformation, propaganda and other toxic messages. Our children learn from those; the messages are embedded in their minds.

Good schooling equips children with the tools to recognize misinformation. It alerts students to the language that intentionally engenders fear. Effective teaching instructs young people in how to substantiate factual claims and think critically about opinions. Strengthening what and how we teach can help to deter the kind of violence we are seeing from our youth. Ensuring that our schools are safe places to learn is vital.

Of course, gun violence is not the only issue that negatively affects our children. Nineteen-year-old Greta Thunberg is an environmental activist who pleads with leaders to act on climate change. The health of our natural environment is crucial to those who will need clean air, water, and land for their futures. We know the steps that can be taken to lessen the impacts of climate change, but we are unwilling to commit to those steps. Of course, healing the planet we are working to destroy is costly. Inaction is more costly. It is our responsibility to protect our children’s futures.

I am running for the U.S. Senate for the children. I am not looking to get a job. I am running to do a job.

Pat Chesbro is a candidate for U.S. Senate. She lives in Palmer.

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