Opinion: SB 158 Gives Us a Real Chance to Save Our Kids

I’m tired of going to children’s funerals. I’m tired of getting calls in the middle of the night about young kids bleeding out and dying on the pavement. I’m tired of seeing kids as young as twelve killing each other with guns — guns they bought or traded on social media platforms like Snapchat and Facebook.

In the fourteen years I’ve worked with at-risk youth in Denver, sixteen children I have mentored died by gun violence. The last three have left me completely gutted. Unless our state leaders take urgent action, nothing will change and children of color will continue to die.

Social media companies are fueling a dangerous climate for our youth. Their refusal to stop the unfettered flow of unlawful gun sales on their platforms is literally killing Black and Brown kids at an alarming rate. In some cases, these kids can get guns faster than they can get a meal. We know they’re bringing guns to school, spurred by fears that many others they know are also carrying guns. On any given day, there could be upwards of ten guns in some metro area schools. Gun laws for the legal market can only do so much. It’s just too easy for our kids to buy guns illegally through social media in minutes.

We cannot afford to continue allowing these social media companies to act as gun traffickers to our children. That’s why we need to pass SB 158 to protect Colorado’s youth from dangerous social media activity. The bill just passed out of the Senate, with one vote short of unanimous support. I’m hopeful our legislative leaders will swiftly approve the measure and send it to the Governor’s desk. And I hope to stand by Governor Jared Polis's side when he signs it into law.

By raising the age of protection from thirteen to eighteen, requiring age verification, and providing tools to opt out of dangerous features, we can give our kids a fighting chance at a future. The bill requires social media companies to remove users who violate their policies on illicit substances, firearm transactions that violate state or federal law, and sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. Through this process, I was shocked to learn that despite “prohibiting” gun sales on their platform, Facebook gives sellers ten strikes before they’re removed. Why are we giving these companies a total pass when it’s the minimum they can do to save lives?

My work with McBride Impact and the Struggle of Love Foundation has been dedicated to helping young people in underserved communities overcome obstacles. With support, love, understanding and education, I’ve seen a light begin to shine in the most hopeless kids. These are lives full of promise, but no amount of mentorship can compete with corporate giants whose profits mean more than our kids’ futures.

When I started this work, it was sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds who had guns. Now, in large part because of the easy access on social media, twelve- and thirteen-year-olds are buying guns. When is enough enough — when kids are bringing guns to elementary schools?

Firearms were the most common cause of death in 2022 among Colorado’s children ages 5 to 14 and older teens/young adults ages 15 to 24. And no surprise in our community, these deaths were dramatically overrepresented among Black and Hispanic males aged 15 to 24. The gun death rate among Black males was 33 times that of White Non-Hispanic males, and among Hispanic males, it was 11 times the rate of White males in the same age group.

This is my life’s work. I chose to step away from the gang lifestyle and give back to the community I love. But I never dreamed I would have to start wearing a bulletproof vest to work. SB 158 gives us a real chance to save our kids — and prevent more Black and Brown mothers from having to bury their sons.
Jason McBride is the founder of McBride Impact, an innovative educational program that captures and maintains the attention of Denver's at-risk youth.

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