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Note: This email discusses domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs support, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline [[link removed]] or visit PCADV’s website [[link removed]] to find a help center near you.
Gun violence is shattering families across the country.
Late last week, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, a respected dentist and mother, was killed by her husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in a firearm murder-suicide as she sought to leave her marriage.
On the same day, 49-year-old Buffi Camille Smith of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed. Pennsylvania state police suspect her ex-husband forced his way into her home and killed her.
Days later, in Shreveport, Louisiana, a gunman opened fire in a domestic violence attack, killing eight children between the ages of 3 and 11, and critically wounding two women.
Our hearts are with the families and communities living through these unspeakable losses.
While other forms of gun violence are declining, domestic violence gun deaths are rising across the country, and are too high here in Pennsylvania . When firearms are used in a domestic violence attack, the attack is 12 times more likely to end in death than with any other weapon. 1
We refuse to accept that this is simply how things have to be. All gun violence is preventable — and domestic violence is no exception.
We've made progress. In 2018, Governor Wolf signed Act 79, requiring abusers subject to final Protection from Abuse Orders to surrender their firearms within 24 hours. Act 79 is a valuable tool for law enforcement to keep guns out of the hands of abusers. It was a hard-won victory, and it's saving lives.
But we need to do more.
Last year in Pennsylvania, 92 domestic violence victims were shot and killed. 2
One of the best ways to protect victims of domestic violence is to prevent abusers from grabbing a gun. Use our tool to tell your lawmakers to support and pass lifesaving secure storage legislation. [[link removed]]
TAKE ACTION [[link removed]]
The best way to store a firearm is to keep it unloaded, locked up, and separate from ammunition. Secure storage legislation in Pennsylvania would require gun owners to store their firearms securely, something responsible gun owners already do.
In domestic violence situations, secure storage can interrupt an argument from turning deadly.
Even when no shots are fired, abusers often use the presence of a firearm to intimidate, control, threaten, and prevent a victim from leaving a violent situation. Removing guns from the equation reduces the likelihood that an escape will turn deadly. 3
Across the country, the pattern is clear:
Every year, 850 American women are shot and killed by an intimate partner.
Young Black women ages 18–34 are at the greatest risk — six times more likely to be shot and killed by an abuser than white women of the same age.
We have the data, and we know that evidence-backed policy changes can save lives. We cannot stay silent while our neighbors and loved ones are in preventable danger.
For every Pennsylvanian who deserves to feel safe at home, please take action now. [[link removed]]
TAKE ACTION [[link removed]]
In community,
Adam Garber
CEO
CeaseFirePA
P.S. We’ve been incredibly close to passing gun safety legislation in Pennsylvania, and every vote counts. Your representative needs to hear now that constituents want safety for our families, first responders, and communities [[link removed]] .
Sources:
1. “ Weapon Involvement and Injury Outcomes in Family and Intimate Assaults [[link removed]] ,” JAMA, 1992
2. Domestic Violence Statistics [[link removed]] , Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, accessed 2025
3. “Intimate Partner Violence, Firearm Injuries and Homicides: A Health Justice Approach to Two Intersecting Public Health Crises [[link removed]] ,” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2023
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CeaseFirePA
CeaseFirePA
P.O. Box 60095
Philadelphia, PA 19102
United States
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