Protecting Our Kids: Why We Need a Commissioner for America’s Children
When a child cries out for help, whether it is a sick child, an abused child, a hungry child, a homeless child, or a victim of gun violence, adults should listen and most Americans do.
Unfortunately, our nation’s policymakers often treat children as merely an afterthought. They have powerful interest groups that are constantly demanding and receiving their full attention, and so children are often ignored. There is a reason that children represent nearly one-quarter of the population but less than 8 percent of the federal budget.
Consequently, in some instances, children have had to take matters into their own hands to get our political leaders to pay attention. For example, due to inaction by our nation’s policymakers to protect them from gun violence, America’s young people led marches across this country last weekend to demand that adults do something, as gun violence is now the third leading cause of death among children.
To a crowd of 800,000 people all along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., it was the kids — and just the kids — that spoke passionately and eloquently about the need for change to our gun laws, school safety, and mental health care treatment in this country.
Just a few weeks ago in a Michigan courtroom, over 150 young women came forward to tell their stories of CONTINUE READING: Protecting Our Kids: Why We Need a Commissioner for America’s Children
