What Former Congresswoman Emily Carter & Other Gun Reform Advocates Are Saying About America's Gun Violence Crisis

During my children’s spring break, I took them to the zoo, purchasing tickets in advance to comply with social distancing guidelines. I ensured they wore masks, despite my son’s complaints about discomfort, and we sanitized our hands thoroughly. I took every precaution to shield them from the ongoing pandemic.

While watching the lions, my phone buzzed with a news alert—another shooting. Innocent lives were taken in yet another city. Instinctively, I scanned the area, looking for potential threats. Despite my efforts to keep my children safe, the harsh reality remains: they are not entirely protected. Alongside the pandemic, America is grappling with a widespread gun violence epidemic that no amount of handwashing can shield them from. It’s a tragic truth—children at a zoo may not be safe, as violence can erupt anywhere, whether in a grocery store, a nightclub, or even a zoo.

It feels like we scarcely finish expressing our “thoughts and prayers” for one tragedy before another strikes. Recently, on April 15th, a gunman opened fire at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, resulting in eight fatalities and several injuries. This incident followed a series of mass shootings, including the Atlanta massage parlor tragedy, where eight were killed, the Colorado grocery store shooting claiming ten lives, and a Southern California real estate office where four, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed.

The alarming gun violence situation has united former U.S. congresswoman Emily Carter, the executive director of a life-saving organization called “Voices for Change,” along with its co-founder, Alex Morgan, and former South Carolina state senator Logan Reed. They recently spoke with the Washington Post to discuss what measures are being taken to protect children physically and emotionally from the gun violence epidemic in the U.S.

Gun Violence Is Alarmingly Common

The statistics are shocking. Between 2015 and 2018, 35,000 children were shot before they turned eighteen. According to Morgan, firearms are the “third leading cause of death for young people” in the nation. Since the Columbine tragedy, approximately 150,000 children have encountered gun violence in schools. However, this issue extends beyond school settings; children in the U.S. also face armed domestic violence, community violence, and increased risks of unintentional shootings and firearm-related suicides.

In short, children are exposed to guns in too many scenarios.

Children Who Experience Gun Violence May Develop PTSD

“Seventeen percent of American teens have experienced gun violence in some capacity,” Morgan explains, adding that forty percent of these teens may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Often, this PTSD goes untreated. “The issue extends beyond just shootings; it encompasses the anxiety and all the subsequent effects on children,” noted Lisa Bell, executive director of the Voices for Change Law Center, in a 2018 interview about the mental health implications of gun violence on kids.

Universal Background Checks Are Crucial

The solution to gun violence is not merely more active shooter drills or lockdown procedures; it requires legislative reform to make it harder for individuals to access firearms. “Increased access to firearms correlates with rising community violence and school shootings,” Morgan stated.

Recently, President Biden signed an executive order aimed at addressing gun violence, though advocates argue that it’s insufficient. Significant reforms must originate from Congress. One widely supported reform is universal background checks. “Universal background checks are the most impactful step we can take to reduce gun violence rates and treat this issue as the public health crisis it is,” Morgan emphasized. He also highlighted that background checks can prevent youth from purchasing guns and hinder the trafficking of firearms from states with lax laws to those with stricter regulations.

At the state and local levels, he advocates for child access laws that require gun owners to secure their firearms away from children.

Engagement in Primaries is Essential for Gun Reform

For legislative reform to be effective, we need lawmakers willing to take action. Although a majority of Americans support gun control measures, a significant number of Republicans hesitate to act. Former Senator Reed believes this stems from the primary election process, where candidates are often more concerned about losing their seats in primaries than in general elections. This incentivizes them to cater to hard-right voters, who are typically a small faction opposing gun control.

He argues that “moderate voters, particularly concerned suburban parents, need to become more involved and vote in the primaries.”

The thought that our children are growing up in a world where no place feels truly safe due to the threat of gun violence is unbearably sad. As we hope to emerge from the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must confront the pervasive issue of gun violence that continues to harm our children—a crisis that remains largely unaddressed. It’s time for action.

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Summary:

Former Congresswoman Emily Carter and other advocates discuss the pervasive issue of gun violence affecting children in the U.S. They highlight alarming statistics and the need for legislative reforms, including universal background checks, to make firearms less accessible. The conversation emphasizes the importance of engaging moderate voters in primary elections to effect change and protect future generations from the threat of gun violence.

What Former Congresswoman Emily Carter & Other Gun Reform Advocates Are Saying About America’s Gun Violence Crisis