Action: Keep Kids Safe at School

Action: Keep Kids Safe at School

Address School Safety and Gun Violence during Special Session

In the wake of the horrific attack on Annunciation Church and School, Minnesota lawmakers are considering ways to address gun violence and school safety measures ahead of a possible special legislative session. While a special session focused on gun regulation may address part of the problem, it is insufficient if it ignores other urgent concerns, particularly equitable school safety funding for all students, including those in nonpublic schools. The goal of gun violence legislation should be to protect innocent human life, not just limit access to dangerous weapons. Therefore, we need comprehensive approaches to the problem, particularly because children in schools continue to be a target.

WATCH: Archbishop Hebda testifies in Senate Gun Violence Working Group Hearing

Along with other faith leaders and nonpublic school advocates, we are renewing our call urging legislators to pass school safety funding for all students. We are requesting $100 per pupil, regardless of the school they attend—public, nonpublic, charter, or tribal. The current law allows public school districts to levy at $36 per student for public school students only. This is not acceptable. We should not discriminate against kids simply because of the school they attend. It is a matter of public safety, not education finance. Just as the fire department does not have to pass by a faith-based organization when there is a fire, the state should make a public safety commitment to protecting all kids.  

Contact your lawmaker now and urge them to protect all students:

What about guns?

In addition to school safety funding, the Catholic Church in Minnesota has long supported common-sense gun regulations, such as protective orders and expanded background checks. But these latter two laws did not prevent the Annunciation tragedy. Reasonable conversations can and should be had about regulating certain types of weapons and high-capacity magazines, which have little value outside a military context.  

Americans have a right to possess firearms, whether for the purpose of hunting or for self-defense. But in a properly functioning society, these rights also come with responsibilities. Public safety demands thoughtful limits on gun ownership that allow communities to live without fear of violence at church, school, or in daily life. 

At the same time, limiting the gun violence problem to the questions of guns merely masks the root causes of violence that are exacerbated by other policies. We encourage public officials to enforce existing gun laws to keep dangerous individuals off the streets, while also addressing the deeper causes of violence—mental health struggles, family breakdown, and a growing despair often worsened by harmful ideologies, substance abuse, and the effects of the absence of God in people’s lives.  

But in the meantime, we must take action and make progress where we can. In advance of special session, encourage your lawmaker to support school safety funding that protects all students.