I find it absolutely shameful that the Alaska Senate would hold a last-minute hearing for HB 61 on Mother’s Day, a time when we should all be honoring the mothers and mother figures in our lives instead of advancing NRA-backed legislation that could put more lives at risk.
This honestly causes me to question: Does Alaska love its guns more than it loves its mothers? So many mothers around Alaska and across the nation are grieving right now either because they have lost a child to gun violence or because they have to live with the daily mental weight that comes with the constant threat of gun violence.
Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in Alaska and across the United States. Every time a mother drops her child off at school, takes them to a birthday party or goes grocery shopping or to the mall, she must now consider whether the unthinkable will happen —because it has been happening every week all around the country. It is too great a burden to bear, and it is astounding to me that we tolerate living in this kind of society when lawmakers could take reasonable, meaningful steps to protect children from gun violence.
I understand the need to safeguard Alaskans’ Second Amendment rights, but HB 61 is unnecessary and could prevent leaders from making decisions that would keep children and families safe in unknown disaster situations. Instead, leaders should take action to advance secure firearm storage laws and Extreme Risk Protective Order laws that have been proven to prevent gun violence and reduce gun suicide. Mothers like me are depending on leaders to act now to protect our kids.
— Rochelle Parker
Anchorage
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