More gun safety education needed
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says gun violence is now the leading cause of death for all children and teens. While Congress continues to debate possible changes to the nation’s gun laws after the recent school shooting in Texas, efforts move forward in Minnesota to establish safer environments in schools and surrounding communities.
Ayolanda Evans Mack—director of community response and education for the group Protect Minnesota—said the problem goes beyond school grounds, pointing to incidents in places such as North Minneapolis where young children have been victims of gunfire in their neighborhoods.
She said it doesn’t mean these areas are inherently violent, but they need help in reducing shootings. “We call it a public health emergency,” said Evans Mack, “and there is a disparity in the ways in which we actually talk about gun safety in Black communities.”
Evans Mack said she feels there’s not enough education provided about things such as trigger locks, safe storage, or the consequences of straw gun purchases. Instead, she said, these communities are simply told to end the violence on their own.
Protect Minnesota has worked to provide some prevention tools in underserved areas. Elsewhere, Ramsey County has expanded its free gun-lock initiative. As for schools, Stephanie Burrage, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, said even smaller-scale incidents on campus can have major effects.
She recalled her own experience while working in the Robbinsdale School District, and the response went well beyond helping students. Burrage had to provide emotional support for a teacher when the school reopened. “I remember walking with her, and I said, ‘I’m gonna walk this with you because we do have to be here for the kids.’”
She said the department is focused on hearing what districts might need in terms of support, including guidance on safety plans. Meanwhile, the Children’s Defense Fund urges policymakers to rid these environments of opportunities for shootings by adopting common-sense gun reforms.
While the U.S. Senate is discussing a bipartisan package, broader partisan divides remain.
Mike Moen is a writer for the Minnesota News Connection.
Common sense gun control is to bring back the culture we had 60 years ago. A culture the included something called the Protestant ideal of moral autonomy and self restraint. A culture where 2 year olds could walk down Pennsylvania Ave. with a rifle in hand on their way to target practice or a high school student could ride the school bus to school with his rifle then go into school with the rifle put it in his locker and at the end of the school day take it out of the locker and join the rest of the members of the rifle club and practice at the shooting range on campus. The culture kept us safe. Today that same culture has prevented open rebellion time and time again.