In the past few weeks, approximately 50 million K-12 kids across the country started a new school year. In my family, my girls were so excited about new backpacks and making new friends.
Last week, I dropped them off and, like every morning, told them I love them and that I hope they have a good day. Just a few hours later, I saw the news: The first school shooting of this school year happened in Georgia, leaving two teachers and two 14-year-olds dead.
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In 2024, there have already been at least 139 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 42 deaths. It is heartbreaking beyond belief to think of the indescribable grief parents face when their kids don’t come home.
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As a mother and a voter, I want to see elected officials who are taking action to keep kids safe. As Kamala Harris said in a rally last week, “We’ve got to end the epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all.” Kamala has a track record of leading this fight, including breaking the 30-year logjam on federal gun safety legislation and taking historic executive actions to combat gun trafficking.
On the other hand, Trump actually worked during his presidency to make our country more unsafe, by making it easier for people with arrest warrants and criminal records to buy guns. He even halted a proposal to require gun makers and dealers to sell child safety devices in stores where guns are sold.
Recently, Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee held a press call to discuss what he sees as the real threat to American kids: Kamala Harris’ supposed “radical gender ideology.”
Trump’s proposed agenda would mandate that sex assigned at birth is the only legally recognized sex someone can ever have in the United States, and would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. This agenda comes straight from a page on his campaign website that outlines his “Plan to Protect Children from Left-Wing Gender Insanity.” Nowhere does he include plans to actually make schools safe and protect our children from the real, documented threat they face every day–gun violence.
Let’s be clear – Trump’s agenda is an attempt to distract the American public.
He’s inventing problems that don’t exist so that we won’t pay attention to the very real problems he’s responsible for. And in doing so, he’s causing even more damage to trans kids, who simply want to exist as they are.
Keeping our kids safe means keeping all kids safe, including from policies that attempt to erase their identity, and deny them the care that keeps them happy and healthy. The American Academy of Pediatrics is clear in its support for lifesaving gender-affirming care for trans youth, which is shown to prevent depression and suicidality.
I also want to unpack the term “radical gender ideology.” This is a term we’ve heard a lot from right-wing, anti-LGBTQ individuals and organizations who believe that being LGBTQ is not actually rooted in who we are, but instead is part of a movement to disrupt American society.
Anyone who is LGBTQ or who loves an LGBTQ person will tell you that who we are is not a belief—it’s a part of us, as much as our eye or hair color.
And speaking of disrupting American society – I’m sad to say that there is nothing more American than gun violence. And so, if being out LGBTQ voters who want our families to be free from violence is a disruption to the norm, then let’s disrupt.
Every vote is an expression of hope that our country can be better, that our schools can be safer, that our kids deserve more. I’m so grateful we have LPAC-endorsed candidates across the country who are dedicated to school safety, and who want to see every LGBTQ person treated with dignity and respect. Together, we can build a world where safety is more than just a dream.
Janelle Perez is the Executive Director of LPAC, the only organization in the U.S. working to elect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer women and nonbinary people.
