Our hearts break for the Robb Elementary School community in Uvalde, Texas where 19 children and two teachers were murdered by a person with a gun. They break for the community of Buffalo, New York where parents, grandparents, children, friends, and neighbors were gunned down in the grocery store by a white supremacist. And they break for parents, caregivers, and communities all across the country where guns claim the lives of children and young people whose deaths do not even make headlines. Firearms have recently surpassed traffic crashes as the leading cause of death for American children and teens (CDC, WONDER, Underlying Cause of Death, 2020. Ages 1-19.) As an organization dedicated to safety for children as they move throughout their communities, we are heartbroken, we are angry, and we continue to be motivated to make change.

For 17 years, our organization has focused on supporting kids, caregivers, and communities to create safe, convenient, and joyful ways to walk, bike, and roll to and from school. School is supposed to be a safe community destination -- a hub of learning, friends, and potential. Just as we desire a future where we can walk, bike, and wheel throughout our communities free from fear of traffic violence and we take steps to actualize that vision, we must take action toward a future free from gun violence.  We don't have to live like this.

To keep kids safe from traffic injuries and fatalities, we engage our communities, we advocate for countermeasures proven to keep kids safe from dying on our roadways, we build power in our communities, and we demand our elected and appointed officials to make change. The Safe Routes to School community knows how to effectuate change to keep kids and communities safe. Today, we ask you to apply that experience, knowledge, and energy in service of a future free from gun violence.

• Lean in deeply and get involved today - Text ACT to 644-33 to join the movement to #EndGunViolence - Moms Demand Action
• Learn about the research-backed strategies that work to prevent and reduce gun violence by following the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions @JHU_CGVS
• Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, ask to speak to the Senators from your state, and when you are connected with their offices, urgently encourage your US Senators to vote “yes” on the Enhanced Background Checks bill.