Annunciation Parent: My Experience Testifying for Safe Schools at a Divided Capitol

This article originally appeared in The Minnesota Star Tribune on March 10, 2026

At the Minnesota State Capitol last week, two very different versions of school safety unfolded at the same time.

In one hearing room, I testified in support of expanding access to school safety funding. My child was present during the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in August. I was not there as a political advocate. I was there as a parent.

Down the hall, another hearing and demonstration were drawing cameras and crowds around a different response to school violence—calls for broader gun restrictions and national reforms.

Read full op-ed in The Minnesota Star Tribune