GOOD AFTERNOON John,

In order to share the good work the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) and Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (Ed Fund) have been doing, we are sending out a monthly update with articles and press featuring our staff. We want to remind you that the best way to stay up-to-date is to visit www.csgv.org and www.efsgv.org as well as follow us on social media including Facebook and Twitter.

[link removed]

twitter.com/CSGV

As usual, don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or ideas. Thank you for your continued support.


Best,

Josh Horwitz
Executive Director

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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Now is a time for solidarity as we face some of the darkest days in American history. We stand in solidarity with our Black, brown, and beige brothers and sisters as they continue in the latest chapter of a centuries long fight for justice and equity.



STATEMENTS & PRESS RELEASES


CSGV Responds to Unrest in Minneapolis and the Arrest in Killing of George Floyd: American Carnage ([link removed])
(May 29, 2020) "Trump's incitement to violence is shocking but remains only a symptom of the core disease. The disease of racism spreads in an America where justice, fairness, and the rule of law do not work for everyone. The system is not broken -- it is working exactly the way it was designed to. This is the same system that first enslaved Blacks, then segregated Blacks, then imprisoned Blacks, and now blatantly kills them.
This is one arrest. But Office Chauvin is not just "one bad apple." When too many bad apples continue to exist within police departments, this creates a bad tree. For America to succeed, we need to cut down that tree to address the ugly and pervasive root causes of racism, violence, and injustice in order to build a stronger American system for all our citizens."


Microstamping in California: The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Strongly Encourages California to Pass AB 2847 ([link removed])
(May 19, 2020) "Microstamping is a ballistics identification technology that can allow police to quickly link cartridge cases found at crime scenes to a specific gun. This technology has the potential to help resolve unsolved murders and daily gun violence in California. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence helped pass these requirements in 2007, but the gun lobby's refusal to offer the sale of new gun models in California has blunted the technology's effectiveness in solving gun crimes."


CSGV condemns the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery ([link removed])
(May 8, 2020) "As history continues to repeat itself, it is imperative we are part of the change. We must hold those who commit injustice accountable and engage the next generation of leaders. Working side by side with Black youth and young adults is key to our success in this work. It is our responsibility to uplift our communities daily. There is critical work ahead of us to ensure that our communities are supported and protected, and the only way to do this is together."



MEMOS


Domestic Violence & COVID-19 ([link removed])
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of Americans have been under stay-at-home orders. But home is not a safe place for everyone -- especially when guns and domestic violence are involved. For individuals who are quarantined with domestic abusers, guns in the home can result in an increase in injuries and fatalities. While social distancing and self-isolating are necessary to mitigate the spread of this virus, we must keep in mind how these measures will affect Americans living with abusers.


BLOGS & OP-EDS


President Trump's private insurrection army, Executive Director Josh Horwitz featured in the New York Daily News ([link removed])
"The president is directing a vigilante army through his Twitter feed and press conferences. He sends them messages to "liberate" states. He tells them that they are under attack. These are not the actions of an American president, but of an authoritarian promoting the use of arms to achieve political goals that governors, state legislatures and conscientious public servants have denied him. That is the insurrectionist idea, and it is an idea that should be loudly rejected by members of all political stripes...President Lincoln stated so clearly more than 150 years ago that in America, the ballot must be more important than the bullet. So as our nation begins its baby steps toward a re-opening, we cannot allow armed extremists to control our beliefs, our values, or politics, or our way of life. Because if we allow those with private guns to make the rules, the dream of a more inclusive and diverse American democracy will never come to pass."


As anxiety and isolation go up, so does the threat of suicide, Suicide Prevention Specialist Dakota Jablon and Dr. Amy Barnhorst featured in Thrive Global ([link removed])
"We know that gun deaths disproportionately affect individuals of certain communities, races, ages and zip codes -- and it is the people who are already vulnerable to firearm suicide whose risk may increase the most when something as dangerous and panic-inducing as COVID-19 happens. As we continue to face this urgent public health crisis and put prevention at the forefront of our lives, we can also recognize that those most vulnerable to suicide at this time include those living with suicidal thoughts, socioeconomic losses and access to a firearm in the home.
Assuming that more people are experiencing common risk factors for suicide, more people have guns in their homes, and more people are going to be staying home for the foreseeable future, many in our communities are at risk from another public health crisis: firearm suicides."



STAFF FEATURES


Ending Gun Violence Through Legislative Change: Q&A with Bloomberg Fellow Jen Pauliukonis ([link removed])
"Developing and passing gun violence prevention policies is a long and arduous process. Working with researchers, advocates, and legislators to pass bills and ensure their implementation takes years. In the meantime, people are dying. About 100 people a day die from guns. Our country is facing an emergency public health crisis, and our leaders are reacting too slowly and ineffectively. I can't work fast enough, and people still die."



PRESENTATIONS & TESTIMONY


Policy Analyst Lisa Geller submitted testimony on behalf of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence to the California State Assembly in support of AB 2617. This bill would make it illegal for an individual subject to a valid GVRO issued by an out of-state jurisdiction to possess a firearm in the state of California. The legislation passed the Public Safety committee.



ARTICLES & PRESS


How the NRA Is Using Coronavirus Fears to Drive Up Gun Sales, MotherJones ([link removed])
For gun control advocacy organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the spike in firearms sales is beyond alarming--and they worry that it could lead a surge in gun violence.
Gun control advocates also worry that more people with firearms, combined with economic chaos and increased social isolation, could result in a rise in gun suicides and accidental shootings. "All the anecdotal evidence that we are seeing--massive increase in domestic violence hotline and shelter groups calls, the unemployment numbers, the isolation, the increased alcohol use--all point to a rise in gun deaths," says Andrew Patrick, the director of political communications for the CSGV.


Economic Uncertainty, Social Isolation And More Guns Cause Public Health Concerns, KUNR Public Radio ([link removed])
Nevada has one of the highest rates of gun-related suicides in the nation. That's according to the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. KUNR's Anh Gray spoke to Dakota Jablon, the suicide prevention specialist for the group. She says during the pandemic, there's been an increase in gun sales, and she's concerned that the combination of economic uncertainty and social isolation could exacerbate mental health issues for some.


Pandemic Could Exacerbate High Rates Of Gun Suicides In Rural West, Wyoming Public Media ([link removed])
Wyoming has the highest rate of suicide by gun in the U.S., according to a recent report, and the pandemic could be increasing that risk. People in rural places are more likely to experience loneliness, isolation and poverty, which is exacerbated by the pandemic. That's why Dakota Jablon, the suicide prevention specialist with the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, said Wyomingites should take extra good care of each other. She said that's what she's trying to do with her own family and friends.
"As I'm checking in on their mental health and making sure that they're doing okay, they have enough food, I'm also checking in to see if they have their firearm there and is it locked appropriately, are they practicing that proper storage," said Jablon. "And just coming from a place of care and not kind of looking down on them for any reasons."
Jablon said many gun retailers have remained open during the pandemic and are in a position to help. "It's really an important opportunity for gun stores and gun retailers and salesmen and gun shop owners to be engaged in suicide prevention. It's beyond imperative that they do have those educational materials prominently displayed and available for their customers," she said.


Study Finds Colorado Has Higher Firearm Suicide Rate Than Most States, KREX ([link removed])
A recent study ([link removed]) from the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence found that in 2018, 77 percent of all firearm deaths in Colorado were suicides. The study also found in that same year, Colorado had the 11th highest firearm suicide rate out of any state in the country.
"660 people lost their lives in Colorado from firearm suicide in 2018," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence in Washington. "You can do the math, but it's almost two a day." Horwitz also says Colorado's new red flag law could help reduce this disturbing trend. "Law enforcement or family members, when they see someone they care about who's at risk from harm to self or others, they can get in court to intervene and temporarily remove a firearm."


Meet the reformer: Khalid Pitts, making a fresh career switch into the fix-the-system world, The Fulcrum ([link removed])
"I got my start in national politics in 1999 at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and am still working for that goal. The failure by Congress to revive the ban on some assault weapons, which expired 16 years ago, is a travesty. And so is the fact that we still lack a comprehensive national approach to reducing gun violence."


Preventing suicide by guns during the coronavirus pandemic, The Hill: Changing America ([link removed])
Concerns about the potential for increased suicide rates due to economic stress and social isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic is why the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (EFSGV) is urging reduced access to firearms, an action EFSGV says could save the lives of those with suicide risk factors. "Our goal is not to stop the sale of firearms. Rather, we strive to prevent gun injury and death in all its forms, including suicide, by using a public health model," says Josh Horwitz, executive director of EFSGV, a public think tank which is focused on evidence-based policy solutions to reduce gun violence. "This means preventing people who pose a danger to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing firearms. Separating at-risk individuals from firearms does not violate the Second Amendment and will save lives."
For those who believe that if people want to commit suicide, they will find a way even without firearms, Dakota Jablon, suicide prevention specialist at EFSGV says "it's really important to debunk the myth that suicide is inevitable. Research shows that few people substitute a different method for suicide if their preferred method is not available," says Jablon. "It's also important to note that 90 percent of people who attempt suicide do not eventually go on to die by suicide," she says. "If people can make it through a suicidal crisis without access to firearms, they are likely to survive."



#WEARORANGE FOR NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY ON JUNE 5TH

June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Seven years ago, just a week after participating in President Obama's inauguration, 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was gunned down in a Chicago park. Following her death, Hadiya's friends and family encouraged people across the country to take a stand against gun violence by wearing orange on her birthday. Due to their efforts, orange has now become the color of gun violence prevention.

This coming Friday, June 5th is National Gun Violence Awareness Day and we encourage you to #WearOrange to stand with us in our fight against gun violence.

We #WearOrange because students shouldn't be afraid to go to school.

We #WearOrange because communities of color have been fighting this epidemic without media attention for decades.

We #WearOrange because people of color shouldn't have to fear being shot by law enforcement.

We #WearOrange because a woman is five times more likely to be murdered when her abuser has access to a gun.

We #WearOrange because toddlers and children shouldn't be able to access deadly weapons.

We #WearOrange because half of all suicides are by a gun.

We #WearOrange because gun violence is preventable.

We #WearOrange because communities of color need adequate resources to disrupt cycles of violence.

We #WearOrange for our violence interrupters who are essential workers during COVID-19 as they continue to mediate conflict and provide supplies to their communities.

We #WearOrange to support our healthcare staff, doctors, and nurses to save lives everyday.

We #WearOrange because we know all gun violence deserves our attention. And we are working on all possible solutions to this national epidemic.

We hope you will #WearOrange this Friday, June 5th and stand with CSGV to make gun violence rare and abnormal.

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