Action: Urge legislators to protect all children!

Action Alert: Urge legislators to protect all children!

Protect ALL Children: A Three-Tiered Approach to Addressing Gun Violence

We live in a unique culture and time when children need more protection: in school, in public, and online. This has become even more pressing in the wake of the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis and the shocking negative mental health effects of social media.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference believes this comprehensive three-tiered approach, which addresses gun violence, school safety, and online protection, is the best way forward in 2026.

Expand Safe Schools Funding to All Students

School safety is a concern for every school—public, nonpublic, charter, and tribal. When one school is vulnerable, all schools are vulnerable. Parents, students, educators, and volunteers deserve a clear commitment from the State of Minnesota to invest in protecting every child and adult in our schools.

We must put our money to protect our vulnerable children by increasing funding in schools to at least $36 per enrolled student in state aid to private, charter, and tribal schools, and increasing the school board-approved levy authority for long-term resources. A broad coalition of Minnesota organizations representing more than 72,000 students agrees: Increase Safe Schools Funding.

Read our written testimony to the House Education Finance Committee in support of expanding school funding to private, charter, and tribal schools.
Watch our verbal testimony to the House Education Finance Committee in Support of Safe Schools Legislation.

Ban High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines

We must ban Feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and allow a shooter to continuously fire bullets without reloading. Statistics from Everytown for Gun Safety show that in mass shootings where four or more people were killed (2015-2022), incidents with high-capacity magazines led to:

More than twice as many people killed
Nearly ten times more people wounded per incident (on average)
Nearly five times more people shot per incident (on average)

According to one study published in the Journal of Criminology and Public Policy, “bans of large-capacity magazines (LCMs) were associated with significant reductions in the incidence of fatal mass shootings,” and, along with background checks, “laws banning LCMs are the most effective gun policies for reducing fatal mass shootings.”

Read our written testimony to the Public Safety and Finance Policy Committee in support of banning high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Protect Children from the Harms of Addictive Social Media and AI Chatbots

We must protect children online. Legislators should support proposals that put the well-being of children ahead of the interest of big tech. Steps can also be taken to better identify threats online.

We can also consider legislation to prohibit minors from being able to access AI chatbots for recreational use. There is little benefit to a child having unfettered access to addictive AI chatbots that are designed to affirm what the user is saying. Talking to AI chatbots instead of family and friends can further isolate children by diverting their attention from real-life relationships and emotional intimacy. Children have been encouraged by AI chatbots to commit acts of self-harm, and, in some cases, even suicide. There is evidence of children being exposed by chatbots to inappropriate content and even sexual harassment. We should prioritize protecting children during their adolescent years by shielding them from engaging in these dangerous, simulated “conversations.”

Taking steps like these could have a positive impact on the youth mental health crisis and mitigate harm.