Frances Strayer: Joyce Craig is clear choice for safety of children in school

To The Daily Sun,

For the sake of our children we must do better.

As I visited my grandchildren's elementary school, I thought of parents dropping their kids off at school with a prayer and a hope of “please, keep them safe.” I thought of my 30+ years working in public schools and sharing responsibility for the safety of others' children

The recent shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia marks the 45th school shooting in 2024 alone.

There have been over 400 school shootings since Columbine. Nearly 400,000 students have experienced gun violence at school.

Guns are the leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens.

It is not for a lack of trying that New Hampshire doesn’t have gun reform. In 2019, Republican and Democratic lawmakers painstakingly crafted three gun control bills, only to have Gov. Chris Sununu veto them.

The group Everytown for Gun Safety ranks NH 39th for gun law strength.

Where do the NH candidates for governor stand on plans to reduce gun violence? Kelly Ayotte’s position is simply to “defend our Constitutional carry status and block the Biden administration’s effort to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Granite State gun owners.” In other words, she has no plan. It seems she cares more about protecting fetuses than the children in our schools.

And Joyce Craig? Her gun violence prevention policies for NH are too numerous to list here, but can be seen on her website. She has earned the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Distinction. When I think of the safety of our school children, Joyce Craig is my clear choice.

For the sake of our children, please vote for Democrats who will do something about the horrific problem of gun violence.

Frances Strayer

Sandwich