On March 27, death quieted the culture wars. Peace came with a painful price, however.

That morning an unwell and unregulated militia member took two legally purchased weapons of war to a Nashville school and opened fire, murdering three 9-year-olds and three adults.

Later, we watched the killer’s chilling nonchalance walking through the school. Thankfully, Covenant School students and staff knew and followed active shooter drills as the halls were empty, classrooms locked. Nashville police were quick to respond and end the killing, too, saving dozens of lives.

That’s where we’ve chosen to be. Grateful for only six deaths.

Nashville brought into stark relief the nonsense that it’s books, drag shows and American history that threaten our children. Whether — as we’ve witnessed in the Nebraska Legislature — you choose not to believe the truth makes little difference: Guns are the leading cause of death for children ages 1-19.

The Nashville shooter was being treated for an “emotional disorder.” Unstable and armed for the battlefield bodes poorly for those trying to keep schoolchildren’s bodies from being blown apart.

Who knows any of the whys of Nashville? Do some even want to? Christmas cards of the congressman in whose district Covenant School sits pictured him, his wife and two of his three children brandishing high powered rifles. The card read, “The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.” Another Tennessee congressman said, “We’re not gonna fix it.” when asked how we should address continued school shootings. Others in Congress broke out their AR-15 lapel pins the day after the Nashville shooting.

We get the arms bearing argument, but seriously, people. Read the room. Or, simply tell us that killing children in school is the price we pay for others — sane, trained or neither — to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Nashville, like Uvalde, Parkland, et al., stays shrouded in some what ifs. Here’s what we do know, much of it is simple math: Mass-shooting related homicides in the United States fell 37% during the years of the federal assault weapons ban of 1994 to 2004. Since then, they have increased by 189%.

Mass shootings went from 336 in 2018 to 617 in 2022, which was actually down from 690 the previous year. We’re at 130 and counting already this year.

A Johns Hopkins University study refuted the idea that “constitutional carry” — now making its way through the Nebraska Legislature — and arming more of us works. The study said, “Proponents of right-to-carry laws that make it easy for individuals to legally carry firearms in public often blame mass shootings on ‘gun-free zones’ and argue that arming more civilians can deter or stop mass shootings. The best available evidence, however, does not support these claims.”

Numbers make a difference, however, if we have no will, no appetite or no courage to find a way to keep our children alive while we keep our rights intact. In the days following Nashville, I sensed a resignation that some leaders   for reasons political or otherwise   are willing to let children and their families pay a terrible price rather than put in the work. The consequence of such inertia? Mass shootings in schools and elsewhere are now both a predictable and permanent part of modern life.

Within a few days of laying flowers at Covenant School, we were back to distracting ourselves from the carnage by fussing over books about our bodies; by warning of the impending apocalypse because clothes that make the man are sometimes a pink chiffon A-line with matching stilettos and a feather boa; by history lessons bleached, blanched and bereft of the truth.

Meanwhile the math is the math. We have a long list of solutions to the leading cause of death among our children, too. Research shows that most Americans want universal background checks, red-flag laws and better mental health services. Fewer of us think more guns, armed teachers and better school doors will keep our children safer.

Nor can we confuse our priorities. You can’t argue that the problem is mental health — as many Republicans do — and then vote against funding mental health care.  Including Nebraska’s three House representatives, 205 GOP members of Congress voted against the Mental Health Matters Act last fall to increase access to mental health care and substance abuse services for students.

Imagine if we spent less time inventing and waging culture wars and more time finding solutions to school shootings. First, however, we would have to want to.

This story was originally published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. It is part of the national nonprofit States Newsroom. Find more at nebraskaexaminer.com.