Beyond Partisanship: Gun Safety is for Everyone
At a high level, the takeaway from Tuesday’s Gun Safety Organization Night is this simple: There’s no silver bullet for solving gun violence, no quick fix for the devastation that these violent episodes inflict upon communities and families.
But the evening’s speakers offered a message of hope: gun violence is a solvable problem. It requires a diverse and complementary mixture of approaches, tactics, experts and communities—and that diversity and innovation was on full display Tuesday evening.
Speaking last, and on behalf of her namesake Giffords organization, former Representative Gabby Giffords left the crowd with a message that best sums up the evening: “Be bold, be courageous—the nation is counting on you.”
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
Communities first
Founded by an epidemiologist, Cure Violence eschews the conventional assumption that gun violence is a symptom of moral depravity; rather, the organization frames the issue through the lens of public health.“Violence is an epidemic,” said Chief Program Officer Brent Decker, “which means it can be stopped.” Cure Violence partners with community leaders to implement and scale evidence-based health approaches to reduce gun violence.
At the heart of Community Justice Reform Coalition’s mission is to identify and nurture potential leaders within urban communities of color—communities that are disproportionately affected by gun violence. Executive Director Amber Goodwin explained that they were founded on the idea that local leaders are uniquely situated to understand and solve community issues: “Our problems don’t live in silos, so our solutions shouldn’t either.”
A coalition of action
A national movement to end gun violence and mass incarceration in communities of color, PICO’s LIVE FREE campaign invests in people before policing—because investing in people has a higher return. To illustrate this point, Oakland community leader Reverend Ben McBride cited statistics from the CDC indicating that every homicide carries an accumulated cost of $2 million—and that’s a conservative estimate. By contrast, LIVE FREE’s peacemaker fellowship, a 12-month program to help active firearm offenders disengage from gang violence to recreate themselves as positive members of the community, can cost as little as $20,000 per person over 12 months. LIVE FREE Director Pastor Michael McBride referred to this as “the cost of peace” and pointed out that, “These young men are waiting for someone to show up.”
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
Breaking the cycle
Youth Alive! breaks the cycle of violence for young people growing up in Oakland’s most violent neighborhoods. Youth Alive! staff is comprised of men and women who grew up in the communities they serve to mediate conflict, to mend hostile relationships, and to help at-risk young people make plans for the future. According to Executive Director Anne Marks, good timing is a critical component to the success of the organization’s intervention efforts. That’s why they show up at the hospital bedside when a young person has been shot: “We intervene in the golden moment when someone is ready to make a change in their lives.”
Similarly, Richmond-based Advance Peace partners with young men at the center of retaliatory violence to nurture their development, health, and wellbeing by providing them with personalized mentorship and opportunities for economic advancement within the community. Chief Program Advisor Sam Vaughn said that the program’s recruits need to be recognized as trauma survivors—not as thugs or criminals: “We accept the young people for who they are.”
Recognizing warning signs
“You have the power to prevent tragedy,” urged Nicole Hockley, whose 6-year old son Dylan was killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Hockley is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Sandy Hook Promise, a movement dedicated to educating youth and communities to identify the signs that someone might commit an act of violence. Research shows that in countless cases of gun violence, perpetrators gave warning signs and signals prior to their actions, but no one around them was able to understood what they were seeing, chose to ignore the signs, or were afraid to intervene.
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
Common sense solutions
The Brady Center to Reduce Gun Violence is focused on using legislation, legal action, public education, and economic pressure to bring down “bad apple” gun dealers. Such dealers skip background checks, falsify sales records, or use other illegal tactics to skirt the law and make a quick profit. In fact, 90% of the country’s crime guns are sold by 5% of gun dealers. “They’re prioritizing profits over human lives,” said Co-President Avery Gardiner. “And we’re going to reform them or shut them down.”
“Just don’t be a dumbass,” said Evolve Founder, Rebecca Bond. To Bond, this means exercising common sense, like not leaving loaded, unlocked guns lying around the house. Of the rather blunt nature of Evolve’s dumbassery messaging, Bond is sanguine: “Being earnest doesn’t always sell,” she said. “Education is not the same as motivation.” Bond was joined onstage by Tiffany Scott, whose 3-year old son accidentally shot and killed himself while playing with a gun that her husband had left out for her to use for self-defense. Onstage, Tiffany acknowledged that she had been a dumbass; she became involved with the group to help prevent further dumbassery. For Evolve, gun safety is not a partisan issue, because both sides of the political spectrum are invested in gun safety; the group’s work is unique because it collaborates with gun owners, gun media companies, and industry businesses like shooting ranges.
Packing heat
Fact: One-third of U.S. homes have guns in them, and at least 1.7 million of these household guns are loaded and unlocked, a perfect storm for an accidental shooting. Indeed, Smart Tech Executive Director, Margot Hirsch, demonstrated that unlocked and loaded guns can be anywhere—when Hirsch walked on stage, she calmly pulled a handgun out of her small purse (the gun was deactivated). Smart Tech Challenges Foundation recognizes that guns are ingrained in American culture; thus, the organization invests in research and innovation to make guns safer through technology like user authenticated firearms and accessories. Smart Tech’s bet is that safer guns will help reduce accidental shootings and teen suicides, as well as disrupt the market for stolen firearms.
Photo Credit: Marla Aufmuth
Research to action
Dedicated to rigorous, policy-relevant research, the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis Health focuses on the risk factors, consequences, and prevention of gun violence, framed from the perspective of developing sensible, research-based public health policies. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, they conduct randomized trials of prevention efforts, large-scale studies over extended periods of time, and observational projects in the field. Program Director Garen Wintemute, MD, MPH, likened gun safety advocates to a “freight train rolling through the darkness toward a better dawn. Researchers,” he said, “are the light on the train.”
The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence takes a legalistic, policy-minded, and evidence-based approach to write, track, and promote gun legislation at the local, state, and federal level, focusing on creative legal solutions to keep lawmakers and the gun industry accountable for policies and products. The Center seeks to harness the increased momentum and public support around gun violence prevention to push their legislative work even further. “This year, we are going to be bolder,” promised Executive Director Robyn Thomas.
Founded by former Arizona state Representative Gabby Giffords and her husband Mike Kelly, the Giffords organization (formerly Americans for Responsible Solutions) has helped pass over 200 laws in 45 states, lobbying for laws and policies that help reduce gun violence in communities around the country. “We’re doing everything we can every day to save lives,” said Peter Ambler, Executive Director. A current focus is advancing Gun Violence Restraining Orders, which allow families to petition a court to temporarily remove a person’s access to guns if he or she poses an imminent danger to self or others.
For more in-depth information on our 12 finalists for Gun Safety, check out their project pages, which include more comprehensive summaries of each organization’s mission, work, and impact.
On November 15th, Battery Powered members will gather at Allocation Night to decide which organizations will be awarded a grant. Want to be part of the process? Join now here.
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