Friend, You should know Ed Stack’s name. Not because he built DICK’S Sporting Goods from a small family business into a Fortune 500 company based in Pittsburgh (he did). No, I want you to know about what he did next. While many CEOs shy away from taking bold stances, Ed removed weapons of war like the AR-15 after Sandy Hook. After Parkland, he removed assault weapons from all stores and took other steps to keep the community safe. It wasn’t a simple decision for the fourth-largest firearm seller in the country, but it was the right decision for the community. Why did a store with community built in its DNA decide to take a stand on such a bold issue? How do we get our elected officials to stop offering condolences and start doing their job to address gun violence? And if they won’t, how can we get more businesses to step up? These are a few of the questions I’ll ask him the evening of October 14th when we present him the Keystone Courage Award at our first ever virtual Fall Event. Join us.   A record number of shootings in Philadelphia led the Inquirer to declare: “This is a real pandemic in itself”.¹ They aren’t wrong. Gun sales have surged during the crisis. And now more lives are being ruined daily by growing gun violence. Nydia Han of Philadelphia’s 6ABC will interview three survivors who must live with loss on a daily basis and finding ways to move forward. - Reverend Glenn Grayson’s son, Jeron, was shot in 2010 after a homecoming party. He now works to prevent other families from experiencing similar losses through the Jeron X Grayson Center in Pittsburgh.
- Julia Mallory has used literature to crystalize her grief after the death of her oldest son, Julian, in 2017. Survivors Guilt explores how to support survivors and make space for the complex emotional realities of traumatic experiences.
- Rosalind Pichardo survived a homicide attempt, only to later loose boyfriend and brother to murder, along with her twin sister to suicide by gun. This unimaginable grief has powered her activism leading Operation Save Our City to advocate for justice in police work and criminal investigations.
I hope you can join us. Until Pennsylvania takes concrete steps to enact new gun safety laws, tragedies like these will continue. It’s why we work every day to educate, organize and advocate for change. And together we can ensure those lost to gun violence are memorialized through a changed world. Sincerely, Adam Garber
CeaseFirePA
¹Chris Palmer, “Philly’s gun violence has hit startling levels: ‘This is a real pandemic in itself’”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sept. 5, 2020. |
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