According to the most recent civilian casualty update by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 406 Ukrainian children (age 0-17) have been killed since the Russian invasion commenced in February.
Since the beginning of 2022, 658 American children (age 0-17) have been killed in gun-related incidents.
While it’s true that the likelihood of your child being killed in the Ukraine versus in the U.S. is about 5 times greater, why are the total numbers even this close? One country (the Ukraine) has been invaded by one of the largest and most advanced militaries in the world. The Russians, whose actions speak louder than words, have committed unimaginable atrocities against the Ukrainian people, and have shown no restraint when it comes to blowing to smithereens any site, strategic or civilian, to achieve their goals.
While America hasn’t been invaded and is not at war, we are suffering from a self-inflicted epidemic of violence on our children that is horrible in its own right. We have permitted military assault weapons to end up in the hands of individuals who never should have been allowed near them. This has resulted in more and more children dying needlessly, and more families suffering a loss so painful it can never be mended.
And while Congress and the President acted quickly and rightly to help Ukraine — weapons, economic sanctions, and humanitarian aid — they have been unable to address the rising gun violence on our children.
Since I served as chief of staff on the White House Domestic Policy Council 1990s, I have watched common sense approaches to reduce gun violence fall by the wayside. Not since the enactment of the Brady Law and the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 has Congress gotten close to enacting reforms to our gun violence laws. Instead, bipartisan progress on the issue has been frozen in place, while the political rhetoric has heated up to a boiling point.
If we want a different outcome this time, then we must do three things. Both sides must acknowledge that no elected official wants anymore children to die; that we need to work together to achieve this goal; and a final bill is going to have to be a compromise, which means no one is going to be completely happy (except the majority of the American people).
To get the ball rolling, let’s take two ideas from Republicans and Democrats and pass a law. For Republicans, this could include more funding for armed school safety personnel and other physical safety measures, along with the codification of a federal school safety clearinghouse to share best practices. Democrats would get to include comprehensive universal background checks and red/yellow flag laws that would establish court and medical procedures to prevent those with mental health issues from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition.
None of these reforms would stop all gun-related school violence. But it could begin to turn the tide. And passing gun violence prevention legislation might just help to create some new lines of communication relationships among Republicans and Democrats, which could lead to more bipartisan progress down the road.
