Youth have a lot to say about gun violence

Ask 10 people what they think about guns. You might get 10 different answers.

Gun ownership is a fundamental right. We need stricter regulation. There are too many guns. There aren't enough. It's too easy to get them. Self-defense. Blame irresponsible gun use on a lack of gun education. We need to address the root causes of violence. Guns are good for hunting. You're not taking mine.

One segment of the population that doesn't like guns is kids. At least the ones that attended a community solutions with youth workshop at the Walker Library in Uptown Minneapolis on Nov. 18. I organized the workshop with the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation, and 13 young people participated. Six eighth graders, three ninth graders, three sixth graders, and one fifth grader. They ranged in age from 10 to 14.

Many of them have personal experiences with guns.

One described having a gun pulled on him and knowing a friend who was shot.

Another youth spoke passionately about the Second Amendment and explained how some people don't understand it was written to protect Americans' right to establish militias to defend themselves, not to allow individual Americans to own guns and kill each other.

Another said her mom doesn't want her to take the bus in Minneapolis because guns are everywhere and bus stops have become too dangerous.

They want things to change.

Our youth have had to grow up with guns like no generation before them. In the 1980s, when I was in elementary school in Southern California, we had earthquake drills. Stop, drop, and roll. Today, kids across the U.S. have active shooter drills. Barricade yourself in the classroom, turn out the lights, and don't say a word. 

Students must deal with this threat. A 10-year-old fifth grader in Houston, Texas, described what happens in active shooter drills to his mom.

Son: The teacher is supposed to lock the door, turn the lights off, and push this big desk behind the door. The first time I did an active shooter drill, I saw her having a hard time with it, so I decided to come help her. Because if she doesn't get the desk on the door in time, the intruder can open it. 

Mom: So what do you do next after you push the table?

Son: The class is supposed to stand on the back wall, but I decided to stand in front of the class, because I want to take the bullet and save my friends. 

Mom: So does your teacher ask you to stand in front of the class?

Son: No. My life matters, but it's kind of like there's one person that can come home to the family, or there can be 22 people that come to a family.

Mom: Do you know why it's hard for me to accept that?

Son: Because I'm such a young age, I shouldn't really be giving my life up. Like, you shouldn't have to worry about that. 

Mom: Right. If there's any time that I want you to be selfish, it's then. I need you to come home. So would you still stand in front of your friend even with me telling you not to?

Son: Yes. I get that you would want me to come home, but it's not really a choice that you can make. It's a choice that I have to make.

Mom: I see now that there's nothing I could say that would change your mind. I just hope that it never comes to that.

Son: Talking about this makes me feel sad, but you raised a good person.

Mom: And this is why can't have the conversation with you. You keep saying things like that, and I'm speechless. You're 10. And you're that 10-year-old who doesn't clean their room, and there is no handbook for this. This is why the conversation between you and me always ends in dead silence. Because I'm a mother, and I don't know what to say.

That conversation was four years ago. Gun violence has gotten worse. According to The Washington Post, there have been 389 school shootings since Columbine in 1999. CNN reports at least 71 this year, while the K-12 School Shooting Database (which documents when a gun is fired, brandished, or a bullet hits school property) counts 306 school shootings, breaking the 2022 record of 305.

Overall, the U.S. has had more than 600 mass shootings in 2023. It's the fourth straight year of 600 mass shootings. Before 2020, our country had never experienced more than 500 in a year. 

Youth are troubled by this trend. At our solutions workshop, they shared good ideas about how to reduce gun violence. 

We plan to help them put these ideas into practice to create a better future.

Eric Ortiz is a journalist and lives in the Wedge with his family. When he’s not community building, he’s the chief content officer for the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation and writes bilingual children’s books with his kids. Their first book, “How the Zookalex Saved the Village,” is available in English and Spanish.