With Donald Trump all but having locked up the Republican nomination for president, it’s become clear that the general election will come down to two very different visions for our country, especially when it comes to gun violence prevention. Trump doesn’t have a plan to stop the No. 1 killer of America’s youth: gun violence. Why would he have a plan, when he told us we need to “get over it”? Well, we’re not over it.
I will never get over that six years ago my sister, Carmen Schentrup, was one of 17 people murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The Republican Party did not offer meaningful solutions — no — they offered only “thoughts and prayers.” Donald Trump, who was in office when my sister was murdered, did not even come to pay his respects to our families. It has been six years since I last got to see my sister’s smiling face, hear her laugh, or spend time with her watching our favorite shows together, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about her and what our family’s life would look like if she was still here.
Unfortunately, my grief is not rare; one in five Americans have had a loved one taken from them due to gun violence. In just the last few years, guns overtook car accidents as the No. 1 cause of death for children. There have been over 2,700 mass shootings in the United States since my sister and 16 of her classmates and teachers were killed. While the GOP candidates campaigned in Iowa, there was a mass shooting at Perry High School, killing one sixth grader and injuring seven others. This was the first day back to school for these students and they started their year fleeing from a shooter. Last year, America set a grim record with nearly 650 mass shootings happening everywhere from bowling alleys, to parties, to shopping centers. How free are we if we are under constant threat of being gunned down anywhere?
I am outraged that during the first two Republican primary debates, guns and gun violence were only discussed for a total of one minute and twenty-five seconds. That’s shorter than the mere six minutes it took the Parkland gunman to kill 17 students and teachers. And it’s far less than Americans deserve when our lives are at stake.
Even in response to the shooting at Perry High School, the same week as the Iowa caucuses, Republican candidates immediately pointed fingers at the red herring of mental health and never back at themselves for failing to push for proven solutions, like universal background checks and an assault weapons ban. In fact, in that singular televised minute on the debate stage, candidates blamed a mental health crisis for our country’s gun violence epidemic. Yet the reality is that America has the same rates of mental illness as our peer nations but suffers a gun homicide rate that is 26 times higher. Our uniquely American gun violence crisis is a result of our nation’s lax gun laws and unparalleled access to firearms.
Since the day my sister Carmen was gunned down in her classroom, I’ve committed my life to freeing America from gun violence. I co-founded Brady’s youth arm, Team ENOUGH, to mobilize young people to say “enough is enough.” I’ve testified, rallied, lobbied and fought for a safer country where children don’t have to grow up in fear of being shot and killed.
To the voters who are considering giving Donald Trump another opportunity at the helm: Do better by Americans and our nation’s youth. Push Trump on his plans to prevent another deadly mass shooting. What is his multistep plan that will prevent individuals who have exhibited signs of violence from purchasing a gun? Remind him the vast majority of Americans support commonsense solutions to gun violence.
If America understands it’s our nation’s easy access to firearms that is killing us, why won’t Donald Trump — seeking Americans’ support — address this crisis with real solutions? I guess it’s easy to refuse to address gun violence and look the other way when the gun industry is filling your campaign’s coffers.
When Joe Biden met with families from Parkland, he gave us faith that our grief would not be in vain, that he would fight for us and honor the memory of everyone who has lost their life to this preventable violence. Since taking office, President Biden has been fulfilling that commitment like no president before him ever has. From signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to providing historic support for community violence intervention work to creating the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, President Biden and Vice President Harris continue to fight the gun violence epidemic with a whole-of-government approach.
Donald Trump owes us answers for how he plans to solve this public health crisis. Over 300 Americans are shot in the United States every single day. Whether these shootings are intentional or unintentional, each death and injury represents another family, another community stricken with lasting pain and grief. If he believes he deserves another chance at leading our nation, he needs to provide solutions, not scapegoats and platitudes.
I can’t bring my sister Carmen back, but I can fight like hell to spare other families this kind of devastating loss. How we cast our ballots in November can help do just that.
Robert Schentrup is a co-founder and organizing manager of Brady’s Team ENOUGH, a youth-led organizing program that endorsed President Biden’s 2024 reelection.
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