Virginia’s Spanberger Says Gun Violence Threat to Kids, So Why Focus Just on Guns?

The media has run rampant with reports of how so-called gun violence is the biggest killer of children in the country. Of course, most of those studies include 18- and 19-year-olds while omitting actual children under the age of one, but that’s usually glossed over entirely in those reports.

Anti-gun politicians jump on these reports, though. They see them as an opportunity. 

After all, as humans, we’re predisposed to protect our young. These politicians try to capitalize on it. 

I’m talking about people like this former Virginia lawmaker.

Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, now seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, joined a crowd of activists at the Virginia Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action rally on Wednesday at Capitol Square’s Bell Tower in Richmond. 

A mother of three, Spanberger underscored the urgency of tackling gun violence, calling it “the number one killer of kids in our country.”

“This is a horrible statistic and one that should motivate every parent, every community member, to say, what can we do to save the lives of kids?” Spanberger said. She highlighted her experience as a former federal agent who carried a firearm daily and as a legislator who helped pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major gun safety legislation in decades. “The safety of our children should unite us all,” she added.

Spanberger’s remarks come amid a renewed push for even stronger gun safety laws in Virginia. Since 2020, when a Democratic-controlled legislature passed a series of gun control measures signed by then-Gov. Ralph Northam, the state has become a battleground for gun legislation. 

Here’s the thing, though. Spanberger’s been in politics long enough to know that gun control isn’t going to happen this year, either in Virginia or federally.

She’s seen all of us saying gun control doesn’t work, that it creates more problems when it’s passed, etc. She’s heard it all during her time in politics.

So, if the safety of our children is so important to her, why isn’t she also pushing some non-gun interventions?

Gun control isn’t likely to pass, but there might be support for a number of other things that the state of Virginia could do to curtail violent crime as a whole, not just so-called gun crime. If this is really about saving lives, why not at least try to do the things that can get passed rather than just harping on what isn’t going to happen?

The short answer is that despite their claims otherwise, this is about guns, not kids.

It might be unfair to say they don’t care about kids at all–might be, not that it is unfair to say it–but the truth is that their actions suggest that no matter what the rhetoric, it’s really about infringing on our Second Amendment rights.

Spanberger could be calling for increased mental health resources, counseling services for the victims of shootings and their families and friends, finding ways to increase economic opportunities, increased law enforcement resources, or a host of other measures that would also potentially reduce violent crime and increase child safety.

But she’s not.

Funny, that.