A message from the Executive Director

I know it’s been a while, but we are officially bringing back our monthly CeaseFirePA email newsletter! And it couldn’t have come at more perfect time – as we wrap our #KeepKidsSafe Campaign for Back to School season, and parents like me settle back into the routine. This was a multi-month campaign focused on addressing the weak gun laws that lead to rampant gun violence in our schools, endangering our children and impeding their education. We held five roundtables across the Commonwealth featuring local experts, debuted two new Deadly by Design stories, supported advocates writing Op/Eds in their local newspapers, and sent nearly 900 advocacy messages to lawmakers, demanding action on real solutions like ERPOs, universal background checks, and safe storage. I can’t wait to tell you more, so please read on…

– Adam

Roundtables

We held a series of Roundtable discussions across PA, highlighting the importance of preventing gun violence in schools and their vicinities, rather than just reacting to it. We gathered in person in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Allegheny counties. And, for those who couldn't travel to those counties, we held a statewide Virtual Roundtable on Zoom.

These Roundtables featured expert panelists from each community, including teachers, students, law enforcement, violence prevention workers, and even a school counselor who survived a school shooting. Although they offered various perspectives within our school system, our experts agree that we must be proactive and keep guns away from potential shooters through proven methods like requiring safe storage, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), universal background checks, and mandatory reporting of lost/stolen firearms. You can watch our Chester County and Statewide Virtual Roundtables on our Facebook page.

Meredith Elizalde (left) and Abby Gillette Campbell (right), our two newest Deadly by Design survivors.

Deadly by Design

We premiered two brand new Deadly by Design stories, featuring women who were greatly impacted by preventable gun violence in schools. Meredith Elizalde lost her only son, Nick, during a shooting at Roxborough High School in Philadelphia in September 2022 – it could’ve been stopped with a law requiring background checks on ammunition. And Abby Gillette Campbell lost her father, John (a teacher), in a school shooting at the Parker Middle School dance in Edinboro in 1998 – it might not have happened if PA had a safe firearm storage law at the time. 

Watch their short stories above and share them with your network and your legislators to help raise collective awareness of how gun violence at schools can never be accepted as “a fact of life” as JD Vance recently said – but rather is preventable through life-saving policies.

Stay tuned for more Deadly By Design videos and catch up on the full catalog of powerful stories at DeadlyByDesign.org. 

This August, our Board of Directors’ youth advisor, Cayla Waddington, began her freshman year at Yale University. Prior to moving to Connecticut, a state with some of the lowest gun crime in the nation due to some of our most strident gun safety laws, Cayla spent her entire life in Philadelphia, and witnessed neighborhood gun violence almost daily. She reflects on her ability to finally exhale, writing, “I’m happy to now enjoy what has become a luxury – knowing that the sounds coming from my window as I sleep are fireworks, not gunfire. And all the while pushing my home state’s lawmakers to take urgent action to make my friends and family back home safer.” Read Cayla’s story published in USA Today’s Network of Southeastern PA Suburban Papers.

Last December, our Campaign Director, Josh Fleitman, became the father of a beautiful, brilliant, bouncing baby girl. But despite her obvious intellectual prowess, Josh and his wife are terrified to send their daughter to school when the time comes. They are frustrated at the level of violence in their Western PA community, and angry at our leaders who refuse to take basic safety measures to prevent carnage from arriving at their doorstep. Read Josh’s op-ed in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Last September, Conestoga High School student Olivia DeShong’s father and grandmother were both murdered by her uncle. Olivia is channeling her heartbreak into advocacy to protect other Pennsylvanians from the gun violence that shattered her world. She writes, “Gun violence has torn apart our communities in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Today, guns are the leading cause of childhood death in this country, outpacing car accidents or illness. With so many lives lost, I want to again emphasize how crucial it is for us to take action.” Read Olivia’s story in the Philadelphia Citizen.

Advocacy Messages

We tell a lot of powerful stories here, but it’s important to remember that they are not simply literature. We uplift the stories of Pennsylvanians impacted by gun violence to bring a human face to this crisis, which is often clouded by numbers and statistics. We want to encourage folks to step into their power and demand better outcomes for themselves and their communities. So this year, with that in mind, we created a #KeepKidsSafe petition for people to demand real legislative solutions to actually end school shootings and protect students, teachers, and school professionals. 

Today, I’m proud to announce that, so far, 873 of you have taken action. That means that nearly 900 advocacy messages have been sent, urging our state lawmakers to advance legislation establishing Extreme Risk Protection Orders, requiring safe storage and universal background checks, and mandating that lost and stolen firearms be reported to law enforcement. Congratulations to all who've made their voices heard, and reminded their representatives that they serve us, the people, and not the gun lobby. If you haven't taken action yet, there's still time! Click here to demand your lawmakers advance these bipartisan, life-saving bills right now.

The Stakes Are High

Recently, Everytown for Gun Safety released a sobering report on gun violence in American schools so far in 2024. According to the report, we have already outpaced 2023’s total number of gun violence incidents in American schools – and we still have two months left to go. It’s no secret that our children are traumatized, both by gun violence and by the jarring “solutions” that adults have thrust upon them – false starts like bulletproof backpacks, armed teachers, and active shooter drills.

That’s why the work we’re doing now to end gun violence in schools, and their vicinities, is so critical. We are gathering expert messengers to show our leaders and the public that the best way to protect our children from school shootings is by fortifying our gun laws, thereby preventing school shootings in the first place. We know ERPOs, safe storage, and universal background checks can keep deadly weapons out of the wrong hands, and stop gun violence before it starts. The task at hand is spreading that knowledge far and wide, and demanding our legislators pass laws informed by it.

I can’t pretend that this work is easy, but it is possible and it is necessary. Together, we are implementing evidence-based solutions to gun violence and building a Commonwealth that is finally free from its chains. I am honored to be here, laying the foundation with you.

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CeaseFirePA
P.O. Box 60095
Philadelphia, PA 19102
United States

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