Opinion: If you want to have your heart broken, spend a morning in a Bexar County courtroom for juvenile offenders.
Credit:If you want to have your heart broken, spend the morning in Judge Jacqueline Herr Valdes’ courtroom.
Throughout the morning, a handful of lawyers and probation officers bustled in front of the judge’s bench, with stacks of manila folders that collectively held each child’s future. The kids may be charged with a range of crimes — aggravated assault or burglary, a drug offense, unauthorized use of a vehicle, whatever — but the presence of firearms is adding a dangerous new dimension.
As a judge, Valdes steers clear of addressing political issues like gun control. But it seems stunningly obvious to me that our gun-saturated culture plays an outsized role in this trend, especially in Texas, where gun owners can now carry firearms in public without a permit.Success! You're on the list.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, when gun sales increased nationally, our society was awash in weapons —The proliferation of guns has not only exacerbated juveniles’ access to guns and the corresponding increase in the severity of their crimes; it’s killing our youth. Last April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that foundas the No. 1 killer of children and teens nationally in 2020 — including in Texas.
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