Wisconsin Family Ties Statement on School Shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas
Wisconsin Family Ties is saddened and infuriated by the shooting that took the lives of 19 children and two adults this week at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. We cannot begin to imagine the pain parents, families, and the Uvalde community are enduring. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this horrific and senseless act.
Mass shootings continue to occur because our politicians refuse to act. Inevitably, many will blame mental illness. This is wrong. The United States has no more mental illness than other countries, nor more severe mental illness, yet mass shootings are overwhelmingly an American phenomenon. It is time we consider gun violence a public health crisis and dedicate ourselves to eradicating mass shootings.
Meanwhile, the words of concern echoing in statehouses and the halls of Congress ring hollow.
As a parent-run organization, we join the growing chorus asking anyone who will listen: Why must we fear sending our children to school? How many children will have to die before our leaders act?
Wisconsin Family Ties is one of the largest parent-run organizations in the state with the mission of changing lives by improving children’s mental health. For more information please visit wifamilyties.org.