Education Groups Set Their Sights On Influencing Debate Over Guns

By Jessica L. Sandham

As days lapsed into months following last spring's tragedy at Columbine High School, the National Education Association got tired of waiting for federal lawmakers to act on proposals to combat gun violence. So the union quickly assembled a coalition of groups interested in gun control, bought advertising space, and sent a message to Congress.

"No More Delays on Common-Sense Gun Laws," declared the ensuing advertisement, which ran in the June 14, 1999, issue of Roll Call , a newspaper widely read by Capitol Hill insiders. "Congress owes it to the students of Springfield, Edinboro, Jonesboro, West Paducah, Pearl, Bethel, Moses Lake, Littleton, Conyers, and children in every community and every school."

The full-page ad, which listed 11 school-related organizations as sponsors, is one example of how education organizations have begun reaching beyond school safety initiatives to promote gun-control measures aimed at society at large. While some groups have long been politically active on the issue, others have only recently shed their traditional neutrality after watching news reports on...