Dear John,
Last night at the DNC, you heard from survivors of gun violence and gun safety advocates. You heard about how gun violence has taken their loved ones or left them with permanent injuries. You heard about the mass shootings that spurred them to action. What you didn’t hear enough about is how gun violence is a daily reality in so many Black and Brown communities. Community Justice Action Fund is committed to ensuring that the people closest to the pain of gun violence are at the tables of power helping to create solutions.
From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration worked to reduce gun violence. Because of our collective advocacy efforts, the Biden-Harris Administration made it a priority to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in community violence intervention, and for the first time in years, rates of gun violence have decreased in many cities. The work of Black and Brown organizations across the nation is why we are seeing fewer homicides in our communities.
However, gun violence remains a public health crisis, and we must continue advocating for our elected officials at every level of government to invest in community violence intervention programs and other solutions that address the root causes of violence and prioritize the lives and well-being of our most vulnerable communities. We have to keep raising our collective voices so that progress continues.
No matter what happens in November, Community Justice Action Fund will continue to advocate for the proven community-centered public health solutions to gun violence and a holistic public health approach to violence prevention.
