A common sense approach to ending gun violence

Eric Ortiz lives in the Wedge with his family. He is executive director of the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation, a nonprofit youth and community development organization based in Minneapolis.

Guns kill more children in the United States than anything else.

It's a shocking statistic. But it's true.

In 2023, firearms killed 4,456 children and teens ages 1 to 19 (out of 46,728 gun violence deaths overall in the U.S.), according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 2013, gun death rates in children ages 1 to 17 have increased by 106 percent, the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions reports, and guns have been the leading cause of death among this group since 2020.

It's why United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthym declared gun violence a public health crisis this year. 

So how do we solve it?

Where can we find common ground on one of the most divisive issues in America?

The solution, according to Dr. Marc Gorelick, the president and CEO of Children's Minnesota, is in public health.

Dr. Gorelick wrote "Saving Our Kids: An ER Doc's Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis" to provide a roadmap that everyone can follow.

The key is taking a fresh look at the issue of guns through the lens of public health, leading the debate away from partisanship and toward practical steps and reasonable policies that will save children's lives.

Dr. Gorelick is a father, pediatrician, and leader of one of the largest independent pediatric health systems in the U.S. He has viewed the issue of gun violence up close, from many angles, for many years.

All that experience has brought him to one conclusion: We can solve this crisis if we prioritize our children's health.

The Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation's Youth Community Journalism Institute, in partnership with Conversaciones de Salud and Jovenes de Salud at Carmen Robles and Associates LLC, hosted a community conversation with Dr. Gorelick on Nov. 19 at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain in Minneapolis to discuss gun violence and what we can do.

Four youth (ages 9-15) from the youth community journalism team led the conversation, in English and Spanish, including a Q&A with an audience of public health experts, policymakers, health service providers, educators, community leaders, families, and youth impacted by gun violence.

Yareli Peña Howard is one of those youth. She is a 13-year-old eighth grader and was one of the youth co-hosts for the program with Dr. Gorelick, who began by reading a few passages from his book about the trauma that results from gun violence.

A few months ago, Yareli saw her father shot to death due to domestic violence. Traumatized, she acted out, was arrested, and had to do community service. She was introduced to the Youth Community Journalism Institute Jovenes de Salud team and has grown in so many ways as a young journalist and developing community leader.

Her abuela (grandma) Aracely Martinez was in the audience for the community conversation and shared the story of her son's (Yareli father's) death in Spanish.

Adriana Cerrillo, a Minneapolis Public Schools board member and youth community journalism partner, summarized what was said.

We need more information about gun violence, specifically when it comes to the schools, perhaps talking about the consequences of gun violence and also the critical importance of psychological help. Her family is dealing with a lot after her son was killed by gun violence. We need to talk to our kids about the consequences of gun violence. They end up in prison or dead. 

Adriana stopped there: "I'm trying to summarize without getting emotional."

Princess Titus, a Minneapolis community leader also in attendance for the conversation, earlier shared how her teenage son died from gun violence and told Adriana it was OK to be emotional.

"We have to be emotional," said Princess. "They have to see that it hurts."

Princess is a mentor for youth and brought a few of her mentees to the conversation. One of them, a young man in his 20s, shared a comforting message with Yareli.

"My heart goes out to you and your family. I'm sorry," said the young man. "But understand that life is like a balloon, and every person you meet you get a little bit more air. But what happens when a ballon gets too much air? It pops. And that pop for us in life is death. But what happens to that air in the balloon when it pops? It goes back to the air that was around it. So that death for us, our soul is eternal. That's why it's everlasting. So your energy is just going to go back to what's around you. So you carry your father with you. You stand strong. Because he's never gone."

The public needs to start hearing more of the human stories of gun violence and stop moralizing guns. 

Children are our greatest resource. Gun violence is a health issue that has put a huge burden on them and society. We can create a safer world for kids. 

Dr. Marc Gorelick has a blueprint. 

Buy Dr. Marc Gorelick's book at savingourkidsbook.com. All proceeds from the book will be invested back into Children's Minnesota gun violence prevention work.

Eric Ortiz lives in the Wedge with his family. He is executive director of the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation, a national youth and community development nonprofit based in Minneapolis.