Love Wins: National Gun Violence Survivors Week
Throughout National Gun Violence Survivors Week (February 1-7, 2021), Americans have shared their stories about loss, injury, and trauma due to gun violence. This is a necessary conversation, given the sheer volume of Americans who are witnesses or victims of random or targeted shootings. Everytown for Gun Safety's 2019 report called the U.S "A Nation of Survivors," because 58% of American adults, or someone they care for, have experienced gun violence. What can we do to change our culture and public policies?
By Valentine’s Day, the U.S. breaks hearts.
Just two months into each new year, there are already more deaths due to gun violence in the United States than other high-income countries report for the entire year. The Giffords Law Center says that "Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed in a gun homicide" when compared to people in those same high-income nations.
Firearm suicides in rural areas.
Giffords Law Center says that the U.S. "accounts for just 4% of the world’s population but 35% of global firearm suicides." Around two-thirds of all firearm fatalities in the U.S are suicides. Since 2010, more than 195,000 Americans have died by firearm suicide. Digging deeper into demographic data, Everytown for Gun Safety found that the majority of those victims are older, white men, and people in rural areas.
Firearms in domestic violence.
According to the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence approximately 4.5 million women in the U.S. have been threatened with a firearm, "and nearly 1 million women have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner." Furthermore, women are five times more likely to be murdered when their abusers have access to firearms. Everytown for Gun Safety discovered that between 2009 and 2018, 80% of children killed in mass shootings were shot in the midst of family or intimate partner violence.
Share "Moments That Survive." The flagship campaign of National Gun Violence Survivors Week is "Moments That Survive," a digital storytelling website that features everyday stories of gun violence around the country. Survivors share their experiences and grief to create a community of healing that advances a shared understanding of the gun violence crisis in our country.
Join Moms Demand Action. Founded by Shannon Watts, Moms Demand Action is a grassroots organization of "Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence." The organization, which is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, has volunteer networks in each state and Washington D.C. As a volunteer, you can phone bank and canvass for "Gun Sense Candidates," advocate for policy reforms, and attend special events.
The purple heart at the top of today's emailed newsletter is in honor of Ana Grace Márquez-Greene, one of the children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. Her favorite color was purple. Nelba Márquez-Greene, her mom, has a motto: "Love wins."