Today, August 27th, there was another mass shooting in the United States. This time in Minneapolis. A shooter decided that taking the lives of vulnerable children just beginning their school year, children kneeling in prayer at the church attached to their school, was a good idea. The shooter barricaded the church doors to stop anyone from running to safety. That detail alone makes the horror almost too much to comprehend.
The official statements came quickly. From Donald Trump: “I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” From JD Vance: another version of “We are monitoring this. We are praying.” Both posts ended with an exclamation mark. As if prayer needed emphasis.
Forgive me if I don’t feel moved by another press release telling me to join in prayer. The mayor of Minneapolis said it best: “Don’t just say you’re offering your thoughts and prayers right now because those kids were literally praying.” Holy, does that resonate. They were on their knees, in prayer, when bullets ripped their innocence apart.
So when, exactly, is the point where America realizes there is a problem with guns? I’m not debating the “right to bear arms” here. That was about muskets in 1776, not AR-15s in 2025. I’m talking about access. These are almost always legal guns, bought legally. Often the shooter has a history, criminal, or mental health struggles that somehow didn’t stop them from getting a weapon. And if this person’s pain or illness was known, why wasn’t it addressed, and if it wasn’t recognized, why on earth was access to deadly weapons so effortless? Different states, different rules, same outcome: children bleeding on the ground.
And here’s the data. In the last 20 years: The United States: ~4,000 mass shootings (~120 per 10 million people), Canada: ~20 (~5 per 10 million), United Kingdom: ~10 (~1.5 per 10 million), Australia: ~5 (~2 per 10 million), and Germany: ~30 (~3.5 per 10 million)
The U.S. is an outlier, off the charts. Other countries have mental health issues. Other countries have marginalized populations. Other countries have political anger. But only in America does all of that combine with the sheer availability of guns to create this endless cycle of massacre and trauma.
And here’s what makes it even darker: those mental health issues, especially in marginalized populations, the very people who already have the least access to care are about to get even less support. Cuts to programs. Clinics shuttering. The stigma that keeps people away from help. Into those cracks falls despair. Into those cracks falls violence.
As a mom and a grandmom, I can’t imagine the unbearable pain of sending your child off to school in the morning only to learn they’ll never come home. And yes, say your prayers! Of course say your prayers. But don’t fool yourself into thinking prayers are enough. If I were to pray, it would be that the leaders of the United States, especially the gun-worshipping Republican Party, could finally pull their heads out of the sand (or somewhere else) and face reality. But unfortunately I don’t believe that prayer will be answered. We need more than prayer or at least as the principal of Assomption school in Minneapolis quoted today from an African proverb. “When you pray move your feet.”
The right to bear arms? Bullshit.
Nancy's Notes 