‘I'm Afraid': Frightened Kids Ask Candidates to Protect Them From School Shooters

Sometimes, it is the candidates themselves who are overcome with emotion

The moments happen all across the country. Tiny faces, peering out from behind their parents, or timidly accepting a microphone as the room falls silent. They make eye contact with a larger-than-life presidential candidate and ask: Can you keep me safe at school? Can you stop the shootings?

The questions from children have become a hallmark of the 2020 presidential campaign, with nearly every candidate facing some version of the same emotional query, NBC News reports.

The candidates often respond to the questions with similar policy prescriptions: expanding background checks and "red flag" laws, banning the sale of assault-style weapons or proposing programs to buy them back. But the candidates also reflect much of themselves back at the questioner.

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