Every time a shooting shakes our nation, especially when it strikes a school, the debate is reignited. Emotions run high, voices get louder, and too often, the loudest solution is also the shallowest: strip law-abiding Americans of their constitutional rights. But here is the hard truth: disarming the innocent will never disarm evil. If we truly want to stop violence, we need to face deeper problems not paper over them with slogans. The question isn’t whether we care about safety, but how we pursue it without surrendering freedom. Liberty and security must walk hand in hand, or we will lose them both.
The Problem Beneath the Problem
Violence does not spring from nowhere. It festers in cultures of despair, division, and dishonesty. We have trained generations to see themselves as permanent victims. Leaders and educators whisper to children that they are hated, oppressed, and doomed, that their parents don’t understand them, and their country doesn’t want them. When you strip away hope and belonging, what remains? Anger. Isolation. And sometimes, violence. The enemy isn’t simply the weapon in a hand; it is the hopelessness in the heart. Until we address that, no new law will save us.
Real Solutions for a Safer Future
If we are serious about protecting children and communities, here are steps worth taking:
Hold Criminals Accountable
A justice system that coddles violent offenders does not deliver justice at all. We need policies that keep violent criminals behind bars instead of releasing them early while families pay the price. Mercy without accountability is not mercy; it is neglect.
End the Culture of Victimhood
Telling people they are powerless breeds resentment, not resilience. Our schools and leaders must stop dividing people into “victims” and “oppressors.” Instead, let’s teach responsibility, dignity, and opportunity.
Strengthen Families, Not Break Them
Parents are not enemies. Too many classrooms quietly send the message that parents “won’t support you.” This tears apart the very foundation of society, the family. When children cannot trust their parents, they often drift into despair, and despair can find destructive outlets.
Secure Schools With Veterans
We lock down courthouses, banks, and airports — why not our schools? Trained veterans, carefully screened and equipped, could stand as protectors. Many who once defended our nation would gladly defend its children.
Crack Down on Drugs and Gangs
So much of America’s violence is not “random” but tied to gangs and drugs. Yet too often, we look the other way. We must take gangs off the streets, block the flood of fentanyl, and restore real consequences for violent crime.
Protecting Freedom While Preserving Life
Some will say the answer is to silence dissent, to shut down voices we don’t agree with, or to outlaw the rights of those who never abused them. But history warns us: silencing debate only breeds more violence. If we truly want to heal, we must allow disagreement, protect free speech, and resist the temptation to turn neighbors into enemies.
This is not a left versus right issue. It is not about political tribes. It is about the hearts of Americans. If you’ve ever cheered at the injury of someone from the “other side,” or called for violence against those who disagree with you, then you are part of the problem. And so am I. I have called names before, and I will repent of it because the only way forward is not with hatred, but with love.
The Only Way Forward
We can fight violence without losing liberty. We can keep children safe without surrendering the Bill of Rights. But it begins not with a politician, nor a policy, but with us.
It begins when we choose to love our neighbor, even the one with whom we disagree. It begins when we hold hands not in rage, but in resolve. It begins when we let Jesus Christ lead us in compassion, courage, and truth.
America will not be saved by more division, more hatred, or more fear. She will be saved when her people decide that freedom is worth defending and love is worth living.
