On Aug. 27, 2025, the unthinkable happened at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. During a morning Mass, a gunman opened fire through the stained-glass windows, killing two children — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — and injuring 17 others, including parishioners who had gathered to pray.

The next morning, flags across the nation flew at half-staff. It was a solemn and moving tribute, a recognition from our federal government that these children mattered — that their lives were worthy of national mourning. And yet, here lies the contradiction: If our leaders can honor these children in death, why can’t they protect them in life? If we as a nation believe they were worthy of remembrance, then surely they, and every child, are also worthy of security.

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