Gun violence touches too many lives in our communities. These quotes bring together different voices speaking about this issue that affects us all.

From parents who have lost children to leaders trying to find solutions, these words help us see the many sides of gun safety discussions.

Some quotes might make you think, while others might help you understand different points of view. Thoughts from survivors, famous people, and experts who study this problem.

As you read through these quotes, think about how they connect to your own thoughts and feelings.

Hopefully, these words will start helpful conversations about keeping our neighborhoods and schools safe for everyone.

What are the different types of gun violence that communities face?

Gun violence takes many forms beyond mass shootings that dominate headlines:

• Domestic violence involving firearms, which often targets women and children in their homes.
• Community violence in neighborhoods where disputes escalate due to gun availability
• Suicide using firearms, which accounts for the majority of gun deaths.
• Unintentional shootings, particularly involving children who find unsecured weapons.
• Gang-related shootings connected to territorial disputes or illegal activities.
• Police-involved shootings during law enforcement interactions.
• Hate-motivated shootings targeting specific groups based on identity.
• School and workplace violence where firearms are brought into previously safe spaces.

Reflections from Leaders

1. “We have a responsibility to protect our children from the carnage of gun violence.” — Barack Obama
2. “No one is safe as long as we have guns on our streets.” — Hillary Clinton
3. “I believe that gun owners and non-gun owners alike can find common ground in support of reasonable gun safety laws.” — Senator Mark Warner
4. “Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need common sense gun safety legislation.” — Tim Walz
5. “Gun violence has become our new normal. It doesn’t have to be.” — Kamala Harris
6. “A ban on assault weapons would be a start, but we need to go much further.” — Bernie Sanders
7. “The status quo on gun violence is simply unacceptable.” — Justin Trudeau
8. “We have to face the fact that meaningful gun control has to be a part of homeland security.” — Joe Biden
9. “Weapons of war have no place on our streets.” — Nancy Pelosi
10. “Prayers without action are just empty words.” — Gina Raimondo
11. “The right to bear arms doesn’t mean the right to bear any arms.” — Cory Booker

Voices of Survivors and Activists

12. “Thoughts and prayers are not enough to honor the victims of gun violence.” — Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland victim.
13. “If not now, when? If not us, who?” — Emma González, Parkland survivor.
14. “We cannot accept this as normal. It’s not.” — David Hogg, gun control activist.
15. “Our children deserve better than to grow up in a country where gun violence is the new normal.” — Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action.
16. “We don’t want your thoughts and prayers. We want policy and change.” — Cameron Kasky, Parkland survivor.
17. “Gun violence is a public health crisis that requires a public health solution.” — Dr. Joseph Sakran, trauma surgeon and gun violence survivor.
18. “We are not trying to take away your guns. We are trying to prevent more children from being taken away by guns.” — Nelba Márquez-Greene, mother of Sandy Hook victim.
19. “I’m not against the Second Amendment. I’m against weapons of war being on our streets.” — Nicole Hockley, mother of Sandy Hook victim.
20. “The first step toward action is breaking the silence.” — Lucy McBath, Congresswoman and mother of Jordan Davis.
21. “Real change will come when gun violence is seen as a public health issue, not a political one.” — Gabrielle Giffords, former Congresswoman and gun violence survivor.
22. “Silence is complicity. We must speak out against gun violence every day.” — Igor Volsky, Guns Down America.

Quotes from Famous People

23. “We’re the only country in the world where a person can go into a store and buy a weapon of war.” — George Clooney
24. “Gun violence happens in communities all over the world with one common denominator: access to guns.” — Julianne Moore
25. “Why do we continue to let this happen? When will we actually do something?” — Taylor Swift
26. “Gun control is about limiting the negative impact of people who shouldn’t have guns.” — Piers Morgan
27. “The Second Amendment doesn’t mean what the gun lobby says it means.” — Meryl Streep
28. “There are enough guns in America. The problem is there is not enough humanity in America.” — John Legend
29. “Guns don’t kill people… Americans kill people.” — Trevor Noah
30. “When one person has access to so much deadly force, it puts us all at risk.” — Ellen DeGeneres
31. “I’m all for the Second Amendment, but not at the expense of students’ lives.” — Jimmy Kimmel
32. “The debate isn’t about taking away guns. It’s about figuring out how to prevent more innocent people from dying.” — Leonardo DiCaprio
33. “How many more innocent people need to die before we realize that the right to bear arms doesn’t protect us from a government equipped with stealth bombers, predator drones, tanks, and nuclear weapons?” — Jim Carrey

Historical Perspectives

34. “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” — Isaac Asimov
35. “The right to bear arms is the right that protects all others.” — Thomas Jefferson
36. “One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” — Joseph Stalin
37. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
38. “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
39. “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” — John F. Kennedy
40. “An unjust law is no law at all.” — St. Augustine
41. “Violence is not the answer, it doesn’t work any more. We are at the end of the effectiveness of violence.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
42. “Non-violence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit.” — Mahatma Gandhi
43. “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
44. “The most violent element in society is ignorance.” — Emma Goldman

Philosophical Reflections

45. “The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave.” — James Burgh
46. “Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.” — Lao Tzu
47. “Fear is the path to the dark side.” — Yoda
48. “When a whole nation is roaring patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and the purity of its heart.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
49. “Violent means will give violent freedom.” — Mahatma Gandhi
50. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” — Mahatma Gandhi
51. “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” — Isaac Asimov
52. “We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” — Jimmy Carter
53. “It is not the violence of a few that scares me, it is the silence of the many.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
54. “In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.” — Dalai Lama

Data-Driven Observations

55. “Every day, 100 Americans are killed with guns and hundreds more are shot and injured.” — Everytown for Gun Safety
56. “Gun violence costs the U.S. $229 billion annually—or $700 per American.” — Johns Hopkins University
57. “The U.S. has 4% of the world’s population but 46% of the civilian-owned guns.” — Small Arms Survey
58. “Before they’re old enough to vote, more than 7,000 children are shot in America every year.” — Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
59. “In countries with stronger gun laws, there are fewer gun deaths.” — The New England Journal of Medicine
60. “The rate of gun violence in America is 8 times higher than in Canada, 25 times higher than in other high-income countries.” — The American Journal of Medicine
61. “More Americans have died from guns in the United States since 1968 than on battlefields of all the wars in American history.” — Nicholas Kristof, journalist
62. “Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed by guns than people in other developed countries.” — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
63. “The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.” — National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
64. “Gun violence is the leading cause of death for American children and teens.” — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
65. “States with higher gun ownership rates have higher gun murder rates.” — Harvard School of Public Health
66. “The U.S. has more guns than people—approximately 120.5 firearms per 100 residents.” — Small Arms Survey
    

How can parents talk to children about gun violence in the news?

Start by creating a safe space where children feel comfortable asking questions. Ask what they’ve heard and correct any misunderstandings using age-appropriate language.

For younger children, keep explanations simple and reassuring, focusing on how people work to keep them safe.

With older children, discuss media literacy and how to process news critically. Validate their feelings while avoiding graphic details.

Emphasize the helpers—police, doctors, teachers—who protect communities.

Maintain normal routines to provide security. Watch for signs of anxiety like sleep problems or clinginess.

Most importantly, remind children they can always come to you with worries.

Final Thoughts

These quotes show us that gun violence is a complex issue with no simple answers.

But they also remind us that doing nothing isn’t working. Behind each quote is a story—often one of loss, pain, and a desire for change.

Whether you agree with every voice here or not, we can all recognize the need to protect lives, especially those of children.

These quotes invite us to listen to each other with open minds and to look for common ground.

The path forward requires respect for different viewpoints while working toward the shared goal of safer communities.

Let’s use these words not as endpoints but as starting points for thoughtful talks about how we can better protect one another.