Bonnie Watson Coleman: “Every 7 hours, a child is killed by gunfire in the United States. Thus far in 2025, nearly 100 American children did not…”

“Every 7 hours, a child is killed by gunfire in the United States. Thus far in 2025, nearly 100 American children did not make it to their 12th birthday because they were killed by gunfire. Every single child lost is an unfathomable tragedy. Families are destroyed, and communities are left in anguish, but the cycle of death and grief is far more prolific in the Black community. Black Americans die by gun violence at a rate 2.7 times greater than their White peers, including a 50 percent increase in firearm suicides in 2023. Communities across our country face this daily reality, but too many powerful people here in Washington, D.C., feel too comfortably removed from it. They will call for a moment of silence and then move on, and nothing will happen. Rather than committing to fight this uniquely American terror, they will find any excuse to do nothing. It is video games. It is mental health. It is anything but guns. Congress has the power to act to keep our young people safe from their leading cause of death: gun violence. We also have a moral obligation to act to free our society from the fear that comes with dropping our children and grandchildren off at school or the mall or the movies or even a house party. Enough moments of silence. These moments of silence don't save a single, solitary life. Now is the moment in time that we must act to save our generations.”