In a letter to members of Congress following the Robb Elementary School shooting, four bishops who chair USCCB committees expressed support for three gun-control bills (the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, the Enhanced Background Checks Act, and the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act).

“While strengthened gun laws could reduce mass-casualty events, not even the most effective gun laws, by themselves, will suffice to address the roots of these violent attacks in our country,” the bishops wrote. “We need to acknowledge that the weakening of the family poses a threat to the mature growth of individuals, the cultivation of community values, and the moral progress of cities and countries.”

“Many of the perpetrators of mass violence in schools have experienced childhood trauma including familial instability and suffering or witnessing physical abuse, emotional abuse, or substance abuse,” they added.