Boycott school to stop gun violence
Pam Bosley and Arne Duncan: Walkout might finally force politicians to act
What would happen if millions of parents across America kept their kids out of school for a few days this fall to put pressure on Congress to pass gun safety laws? With the midterm elections coming and control of Congress in the balance, would politicians finally do something about the mass shootings in schools?
Maybe we should find out. We’re both parents. One of us was the country’s top education official and is now working to combat gun violence in Chicago. The other lost her 18-year old son to a drive-by shooting and is the founder of an organization called Purpose Over Pain, which provides support for parents whose children have been shot and killed.
Across America, the number of grieving parents is growing hour by hour. In Chicago alone this year, more than 1,000 people have been shot.
Neither of us opposes gun rights for hunters and target-shooters. We don’t object to people who keep a safely stored legal gun for protection.
But when it comes to weapons of war, like the AR-15-style rifle used in Parkland, Fla., to gun down 17 people, America needs to draw the line. When it comes to high-capacity magazines that allow a gunman to wipe out an entire classroom of kids without reloading, America needs to draw the line.
When it comes to school shootings, America is tragically in a class by itself. The Washington Post tracked every deliberate act of gunfire at a primary or secondary school during school hours in the United States and found 115 school shootings since 2009. The closest country to us is Mexico with eight.
This crisis has gone on so long that it sometimes feels like nothing can be done. But commonsense gun laws can make a real difference. According to one study, when America banned assault weapons for a decade starting in 1994, the death toll fell in gun massacres with six or more killed. When Australia banned most guns after a mass shooting in the mid-1990s, gun violence virtually disappeared overnight.
When Connecticut passed legislation requiring gun licensing and background checks, homicides fell by 40%. When states beefed up gun store licensing rules, trafficking declined.
The vast majority of Americans want reforms like these; even most gun owners support background checks. Despite that support, in Washington, the politicians continue to give lip service, at best, to the idea of taking action. If Congress cares only about the next election, then let’s make this an election issue.
That’s why we’re calling for a boycott. Here’s how it could work:
We’re calling for parents to keep their children home from school after the Labor Day holiday weekend to send the strongest possible message to lawmakers that enough is enough. We invite all Americans to participate, including parents who are responsible gun owners. We know you love your children as much as we love ours.
We know that having a child out of school, even for a few days, will be difficult for most Americans. But given the stakes of this struggle against gun violence, we think Americans will come together and find ways to make this work. Community groups, churches and local businesses could coordinate with retirees and non-working adults to set up activities for our kids during the days of the boycott.
We’ve got to work together to shake things up. It’s often said that culture drives politics. The good news is that a change in America’s gun culture is under way. The number of adults living in a house with a gun in the USA dropped from 50.4% in 1977 to 31% in 2014.
Now we need to translate that into change. Do you really want to live in a country where the threat of gun violence infects everyday life? Do you really want to have metal detectors in church? Gun searches in your school?
Our children have shown courage and leadership on this issue. Now parents need to send a message to Congress. We all want our children to grow up safe and secure.
Pam Bosley is the co-founder of Purpose Over Pain. Arne Duncan, secretary of Education in the Obama administration, is managing partner with Emerson Collective.