What you can do to end gun violence

“Before taking him into surgery, Cooper’s nurses looked me in the eye and promised to love him like a mother would, as they guided me to say my last goodbye,” said Keely Roberts as she held back tears. Keely and her 8-year-old son Cooper both suffered catastrophic gunshot wounds during the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade mass shooting.

A group of us, all survivors of gun violence, came together in Washington, DC last month through advocacy organizations Following and March 4thwas left speechless at a private dinner as Keely continued to describe what she felt in those brief moments as she bid a desperate goodbye to her son, who was not expected to survive his injuries from the shooting. Miraculously, he survived, but was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as the bullets he endured severed his spinal cord. His life, now confined to a wheelchair, has never been—and never will be—the same. Neither did Keely.

This was just a story. There were so many more.

There was the family of Jacklyn “Jackie” Jaylen Cazares, who spoke of their beloved 9-year-old granddaughter, a “firecracker” who loved animals and family. She was among the 19 children killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Her family, determined that her story and name would never be forgotten, wore pins with a photo of little Jackie in a beautiful white dress she had chosen for her First Communion, which they had recently celebrated together.

Sitting next to me was a man named Alexander, a single father of a little boy named Alex, who survived the Highland Park Independence Day parade shooting by running and hiding in a dumpster. He tearfully confided to me that he’s too busy to get help, but he knows the PTSD he’s suffering from the event “isn’t right.”

58 percent of American adults or someone they care about has experienced gun violence in their lifetime.

Dana, who narrowly survived the 2023 shooting at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, sat across the table from me and said that when the gunman opened fire in her bank’s conference room that day , was shot in the back. , suffering an eight-inch shrapnel-filled wound that still plagues her. She lay on the floor of the conference room and feigned death as she witnessed the violence that claimed five lives that day.

There was also Lacey, who survived the 2023 shooting at the Premium Outlet Mall in Allen, Texas. As her husband held her hand and comforted her, she added how hard it was to wait for news that day, not knowing if she survived or what was happening during the event – an unbearable and familiar feeling that share from my side. experience with gun violence.

On March 27, 2023, a seemingly ordinary and beautiful spring Monday in Nashville, a heavily armed gunman stormed the halls of my children’s elementary school and killed six people before taking his own life. Trust me when I say that you are completely unprepared for the moment you receive a text indicating that there is an active shooter in your children’s school building.

I was there at that dinner in Washington last month, part of a dedicated group of volunteers and content creators with a single purpose: to shed light on the 20 years that have passed since Congress left the federal ban on assault weapons to expire in September. 2004.

A quick history lesson: You might not know that there was ever an assault weapons ban – we didn’t! But in 1994, a bill was passed that made it a crime to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or knowingly possess a semi-automatic assault weapon or high-capacity ammunition feeding device (such as an AR- 15, the military-style pistol most commonly used in mass shootings for its ability to do the most damage in the shortest amount of time). When the ban was implemented in 1994, there was a 37% drop in mass shootings in the US. After the ban expired in 2004, shootings increased by 183 percent.

The day after our dinner, the larger group of us, about 60 in all, attended a meeting with the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention, which President Biden established in September 2023. The office’s deputy directors, Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox, gave a dynamic and hopeful account of the hard work their team has been doing in its first year under the close and passionate supervision of Vice President Kamala Harris. These achievements include:

Passing by Bipartisan Safer Communities Actwhich was designed to address community and domestic violence and school and mass shootings and to implement youth mental health measures. It was signed into law in June 2022.
Making gun trafficking a federal crime. This is one part of the above law that is important to point out. Now, if you want to work as a gun dealer, you must be licensed and have a clear background check.
Guiding the adoption of red flag laws in 21 states. These laws allow community and/or family members to request a court order to temporarily revoke a person’s ability to purchase or own firearms if that person poses a danger to themselves or others.
Establishing gun violence as a public health emergency. This was announced in June 2024 by US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. The designation allows nations’ strategy and action on the issue to proceed in a similar fashion to successful efforts to address tobacco-related disease and car accidents.
Creating the safer states agenda, which provides states with federal support, tools and guidance to implement effective and lifesaving policies to keep communities safe. These policies include safer storage of firearms, stricter background checks and greater accountability from the firearms industry.
Establishing the White House Gun Violence Emergency Response Team, which functions much like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in deploying resources following natural disasters.

That day in DC was equal parts tough and uplifting – and definitely an experience I will never forget. I found myself (and continue to find myself) wondering how the hell I got here. How am I part of this group – and this story? The sad truth is that statistically speaking, 58 percent of American adults or someone they care about has experienced gun violence in their lifetime. So I guess being “part of this story” isn’t actually that unusual. Sigh.

But it doesn’t have to be. As Maureen Westphal, March Fourth co-chair and longtime political consultant, says, “The world is run by people who show up.”

Here are four ways you may occur:

Do what daily (yes, daily if possible) calls to your representatives and senators in Congress. Let them know that common sense gun safety is a priority for you and that it must be their priority too. Check this tab on the March 4 website for a directory of officials and a clear script to follow; includes calling for reinstatement of federal assault weapons ban.
Be willing to talk to your friends and family about this important topic and bring it up regularly, even if it’s difficult and “ruffling feathers.” It shouldn’t. Gun violence is a public safety issue.
Vote! Use your voice by voting for local, state and national candidates who support gun reform. Find them Here.
Consider donating and/or volunteering with a gun safety organization such as March 4th, Mothers’ requestor Everytown.

And if you’d like to help the aforementioned Keely as she tries to set up a new, ADA-accessible home for Cooper, a GoFundMe page to help raise money for her family is Here.

The stakes are higher than ever. We need you in this fight! So are you in?