Introducing J. Sandy Bartlett

As the nation continues to confront its deadly epidemic of gun violence, a Maryland State Delegate dedicated to reducing gun violence in all its forms has joined the board of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV). Delegate J. Sandy Bartlett brings her commitment to public service, experience as a state legislator, and support for evidence-based gun violence prevention laws to her new position advising CSGV’s efforts to make gun violence rare and abnormal.

“Whether it’s mass shootings, the consistent drumbeat of community violence, or the tragic toll of gun suicides, we see with shocking regularity the pain and loss of gun violence in Maryland and across our country,” said Delegate Bartlett. “The statistics we read about in the newspaper are not just statistics — they’re people’s lives. I have joined the board of CSGV because I believe we must work for a world where gun violence is rare, where young Marylanders don’t have to live in fear as they endure active shooter drills, where our communities are not torn apart by guns, and where people in crisis can get the help and care they need.”

CSGV Executive Director Josh Horwitz said, “We are honored to have Delegate Bartlett join the board of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Delegate Bartlett brings valued state-level legislative experience to CSGV at a time when there is so much exciting work happening in state legislatures to enact innovative gun violence prevention policies that save lives. Delegate Bartlett brings an important perspective to our work and shares our deep commitment to ensuring an end to the American epidemic of gun violence.”

Success in Congress

As we mourned a rash of tragic mass shootings in the last month, we are encouraged by several legislative successes accomplished in March, which will help make gun violence rare and abnormal:

• The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 passed the House on March 3. CSGV submitted an endorsement letter and circulated a press release.
• H.R. 8 – the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and H.R. 1446 – the Enhanced Background Checks Act passed the House on March 11. Read our press release on these two bills.
• The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act passed the House on March 17. Read our press release here.
• Finally, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence on March 23. We circulated a press release and submitted a Statement for the Record.

At the state level, Virginia passed legislation prohibiting firearms at polling places, prohibiting firearm purchase, possession and transportation by certain persons convicted of assault and battery of a family or household member, and expanding the default proceed period from 3 to 5 days.

CSGV will continue to fight for commonsense legislation to stop gun violence in all its forms. We hope you will join us in the fight.

Reintroducing the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy

For newer supporters, we would like to take the opportunity to reintroduce the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy (Consortium). The Consortium comprises experts committed to advancing evidence-based gun violence prevention policies. The group includes the nation’s leading researchers and academics with expertise at the intersections of gun violence prevention and public health, law, behavioral health, medicine, criminology, and related fields.

Following the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, convened the Consortium in March 2013 to identify areas of consensus regarding risk factors for future violence, discuss existing research evidence on the issue, and foster collaboration on the development of new research that could lead to new practices and policies. Though they are separate entities, the Consortium is organized and staffed by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence.

The Consortium convenes regularly to develop evidence-based gun violence prevention policies. In turn, policymakers have come to rely upon the Consortium’s recommendations to craft legislation and executive action and to inform implementation efforts which continue to shape the policy landscape of the gun violence prevention movement.

If you would like to follow the progress of the Consortium and receive news about its work, sign up here.

National Public Health Week

As CSGV and the Ed Fund mark National Public Health Week this week, we recommit ourselves to applying the public health approach to the public health epidemic that is gun violence.

Every day, we apply the public health model to define and monitor the problem, identify risk and protective factors, develop and evaluate prevention strategies, and ensure widespread adoption of effective strategies. We are working to apply these steps to gun violence prevention and let this model inform the policies we draft, pass, and implement.

This week and every week, we are proud to participate in activities and initiatives that elevate the public health approach to gun violence.

In the News

Director of Outreach and Equity Lauren Footman and Senior Policy Analyst Ari Davis were quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about community gun violence prevention strategies. “It’s rooted more often than not in structural racism,” said Lauren Footman. “And so it’s understanding that undoing a lot of that is going to take time.”

Executive Director Josh Horwitz was quoted in Al Jazeera saying the US needs “Congress to act and implement solutions, guided by a public health and equity approach, that the American people already wholeheartedly support … and we will continue pushing Congress to pass new legislation to fix our broken firearm laws.”

Law and Policy Staff Attorney Tim Carey was quoted in WVNews. “A clear prohibition of firearms at polling locations would dissuade fears of the electorate and would send a clear message,” Carey said. “In Maryland, we cast our vote with ballots and not bullets.”

The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence were mentioned in an Associated Press story on microstamping. The story mentioned and linked to our report, which was released earlier this year.

Your generous donations support our life-saving work. Please consider making a gift today to help make gun violence rare and abnormal.