Robert B. Hubbell today:

The killing and wounding of schoolchildren as they knelt in devotion at a Catholic mass weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of most Americans. The evil is unspeakable on so many levels that it is difficult to know where to start. So, let’s start with first principles: The foremost duty of any civilized society is to protect, love, and educate its children. Any society that refuses to do so is depraved.

Guns kill more children than any other cause of death. That sentence speaks volumes but also contains answers. Guns kill children. Guns.

We must ban assault rifles. We must restrict access to guns. We must impose liability on those who fail to secure their guns. We must permit families of victims and survivors to sue gun manufacturers who commercialize weapons of war intended to maim and kill humans with frightening speed.

We can do all of the above, and more. Republicans have proven their ability to ban children’s books and literary classics because they might affect the hearts and minds of children trying to make their way in the world. Republicans should be willing to ban weapons that kill and maim those same children. Their children. Our children. America’s children. America’s future.