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Independence from Gun Violence
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As American celebrated its 245th birthday this Fourth of July weekend, we experienced the consequences of a deadly epidemic of gun violence that undermines the right of every American to live free from gun violence. In response, the Coalition To Stop Gun Violence called for elected officials at the national, state, and local levels to respond to this public health crisis by immediately passing legislation and implementing proven policies that will end the carnage.
America has seen a devastating increase in gun violence this year, one that is expected to continue, with unaddressed structural inequities exacerbated by COVID-19 and the ongoing surge in firearms sales showing little signs of decreasing.
The current situation cannot continue. The problem disproportionately affects communities of color that have been chronically disinvested in for decades. We all deserve to live free from the constant threat of gun violence and CSGV is committed to leading the charge for a safer America.
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“Ghost guns” are privately made firearms that can be assembled from kits or 3D-printed and lack a serial number. These guns have been recovered by law enforcement in increasing numbers over the last few years. Baltimore, in particular, has seen big increases in recovery of privately made firearms that are difficult or impossible to trace. The Biden Administration has proposed a rule to address ghost guns, but there is still a lot we don’t know about these guns on a local, state, and national level. On June 22, Executive Director Josh Horwitz participated in “A Conversation About ‘Ghost’ Guns: Baltimore and Beyond” hosted by Johns Hopkins University. Josh was joined by Baltimore Police Department Deputy Commissioner Sheree Briscoe. Watch the conversation here.
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We've seen recent success in passing gun violence prevention legislation at the state level!
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Success in Illinois:
In Illinois, House Bill 562 was sent to the governor’s desk. The bill includes seven important provisions, including requiring background checks on all gun sales; providing $9 million of funding for mental health programs; removing firearms from individuals with revoked Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards that have not yet surrendered them; incentivizing fingerprinting for all FOID applicants; allowing for a stolen firearms database; requiring Illinois State Police to monitor state and federal databases for prohibited firearm purchasers and update the records with FOID card holders; and improving processes to secure more funding for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
Success in Colorado:
In a major victory, Colorado Governor Jared Polis took decisive action to keep Colorado families, communities, and localities safe from gun violence and signed four vital pieces of gun violence prevention legislation. The legislation signed into law included ending preemption, which allows local regulation of firearms; strengthening background checks to close the ‘Charleston Loophole’ by ensuring that a gun is not sold to someone until the background check is complete and approval is granted. It additionally prohibits the transfer of firearms to someone convicted of a violent misdemeanor in the prior 5 years. The legislation also included establishing the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to coordinate, fund, and promote effective efforts to reduce gun violence, such as extreme risk laws and community violence prevention programs.
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Director of Outreach and Equity Lauren Footman appeared on ABC 7 discussing upticks in community violence. “A multifaceted public health and equity approach, thinking about the long-term social deterrents which would take time to start to turn the tide there but thinking about the interventions and preventions, but providing people with access to jobs,” she said.
State Affairs Manager Lisa Geller was interviewed by The Trace about her original research on domestic violence and mass shootings, which was published in Injury Epidemiology. “We think about mass shootings in public places, and people are scared to go to the grocery store, they’re scared to go to concerts,” she said. “But there are so many people who are scared to be in their own homes, and that often gets overlooked.”
Director of Strategic Communications Bryan Barks published an op-ed in the Roanoke Times about Virginia’s new voluntary self-prohibition law. She writes, “For people like me, who are prone to suicidality, having access to firearms is extremely dangerous. For us, self-defense means ensuring firearms aren’t easily accessible. Virginia’s new law gives people agency to make decisions about their own access to guns when they are not actively experiencing the anguish of suicidality.”
State Affairs Manager Lisa Geller was interviewed by Ms. Magazine. “Gun violence has many forms, but it is clear that a history of interpersonal violence should be a deciding factor in whether or not an individual should continue to have access to a gun,” she said.
Director of Strategic Communications Bryan Barks published an op-ed in The Hill about the need for universal background checks. She writes, “People of all political stripes support universal background checks because this tool is a commonsense policy to address our nation’s gun violence epidemic. Universal background checks serve as the foundation for many other important gun violence prevention policies, including extreme risk laws and laws to disarm domestic abusers. Without universal background checks, however, these additional policies are less effective.”
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Please check out our career opportunities on our career page. Consider contributing your skills to the movement to stop gun violence!
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Your generous donations support our life-saving work. Please consider making a gift today to help make gun violence rare and abnormal.
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