John,

No person, family, or community should have to live through the horrific experience of gun violence. All too often, Americans are surviving instances of gun violence, again and again. In Pennsylvania and across the nation, gun violence is an epidemic.

June is Gun Violence Awareness Month. This year, I encourage you to take a moment with me to honor the victims and survivors of gun violence and to commit to strengthening firearm safety measures to protect our families, friends, and community.

Delaware County has made great strides in preventing gun violence in the last few years. With the support of state funds, we’ve upgraded our emergency communications systems and invested in addressing the root causes of gun violence — expanding behavioral health programs, strengthening investigation and prosecution funds, and upgrading police training and technology.

And, in March of this year, we passed the ordinance regulating ghost guns and machine gun conversion devices in our county. By successfully passing this ordinance, we are protecting our children, families, and first responders, because all Pennsylvanians deserve to feel safe and protected in their community.

We must never forget the horrors and tragedies of gun violence — in Pennsylvania and across our nation — and I will never stop fighting for stronger firearm safety measures so that we can keep our families, schools, and communities.

— Dr. Monica Taylor