Dear Friends, Parents & Grandparents

Thank you for your interest in Stop School Shootings USA. My passion in working on this subject is in response to the shooting at Annunciation School, Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 27, 2025. Eight members of my family could have died that day. While they all escaped without physical injury, the things they saw will stay with them forever. Minnesota is blessed with an abundance of researchers and politicians that diligently work on issues like school shootings and gun violence. Despite this blessing, we, like the rest of the country, seem unable to solve problems due to partisan positions. Since the end of August, I have been asking why. Why, why are things this way and what can be done? My answer has been to come at the issues as a common citizen without professional or political expertise.

Although my focus was initially on reversing the shooting trend in Minnesota, it is impossible to restrict things to one state, and once I decided to include web pages, it obviously had to include more than Minnesota. Many recommendations are state law specific and efforts would be required to address additional states. While the focus is on Minnesota, many of the recommendations would apply to other states.

In the beginning, I attempted to collect answers using tried and true business problem solving methods. Soon this approach gave way to listening to everyday people. Probably half of the recommendations arose from this approach. Beyond the problems perceived to be solvable with business methods lies the more challenging problem of partisanship attitudes. In discussing this with another grandparent, we compared our collective American response to school shootings to that of wild animals. Almost all wild animals will fight to the death protecting their young. Unfortunately, too many of us are partisan parents. The term partisan implies a strong, sometimes hostile, attachment to one's own group and an opposition to other groups. Unfortunately, our partisan ways are killing our children. The website and survey run on desktop computers and cell phones. If you are taking the survey, you do not have to finish in one session, but once completed, it cannot be re-opened. Minnesota surveys and offline suggestions can be sent to your political representatives and help reverse the trend of the school shooting epidemic. Over time, the recommendations will evolve as more people participate and we continue to identify what works and what doesn’t work.

If you are familiar with the issues, the survey takes an average of 17 minutes or less. However, I ask that you read all of the material. If you are not familiar with the issues and dig into the details, the Detailed Research Findings and Resources Used sections offer an abundance of items that will hopefully interest you today and keep you interested tomorrow. Volunteer opportunities exist with most of the organizations listed in the Resource Section.

Slides 5 and 12 speak to the positive things Minnesota has accomplished. The glass is half full, not half empty. We can do more together, and WE MUST. Hopefully, the recommendations will find their way onto the agenda for the next Minnesota Special Session on Gun Violence.

Thank you,

Grandpa David

Email: sssmnnow@gmail.com

and 35 Other Grandparents, Parents, Aunts & Uncles

https://www.stopschoolshootingsusa.com ( Final Website Publication Expected January 2026)