What’s the injustice?

The U.S. averages nearly one mass shooting per day.

The bullets have rung out during worship services and graduation parties, in offices and in supermarkets, in schools, in neighborhoods, and often in the home. By May of 2021, gun violence had ended more than 8,100 lives in the United States — about 54 deaths per day, setting a pace to make this the deadliest year for gun violence in recent memory. Each shooting death is a story that has ended too soon, a world shattered. Every incident forces us to confront a grim and devastating reality: Gun violence has come to plague every dimension of American life.

The gun violence epidemic is a uniquely American problem — a public health crisis of which our children bear an unconscionable burden. In 2017, child and teen gun deaths hit a 19-year high. In 2018, gun violence was the leading cause of death among people 19 years old and younger, exceeding car accidents for the first time. In 2019, more children were killed by bullets than by “cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, HIV/AIDs, and opioids combined.” Despite these well-documented trends — and as more families bury their children, parents, and loved ones each year — Congress has repeatedly failed to act. As a result, Americans of every age, community, and background have paid with their lives.

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