Hi John,

Just days into the new school year, a 13-year-old was shot and killed after standing up for a kid being bullied at a middle school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three school days later, three students were shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting at a high school in South Carolina.

So far this school year, there have been at least 15 separate incidents of students bringing guns to school.

Going back to school shouldn’t mean going back to school shootings. Make a gift today to help keep our schools and communities safe.

April 2020 was the first month in decades without a school shooting. It wasn’t because elected leaders finally got serious about reducing access to firearms. It was because COVID-19 closed schools across the country. It shouldn’t take a global pandemic to stop school shootings.

Now, after more than a year of struggling through remote or hybrid learning, a majority of students are heading back into the classroom. And the return to in-person school means the return to traumatizing school shooter drills and the ever-present threat of gun violence at school.

Young people have enough to worry about at school, especially this year as COVID-19 makes another resurgence. They should not have to fear gun violence as well. The tragic list of concerns facing students and school faculty this year is summed up in this horrifying tweet.

It does not have to be this way. There are evidence-based policies, like safe storage and Extreme Risk Protection Orders, that work to keep our school and our communities safe.

We can’t throw up our hands and allow another generation of young people to grow up in the shadow of gun violence. Please, pitch in today to help keep our kids safe where they learn and play.

Thank you,
Renée (she/her)