The Issues:

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Nearly ten years ago the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting shook me to my core. The Parkland shooting spurred me to take action. I joined New Yorkers Against Gun Violence to fight for a world where families and communities aren’t ripped apart by this preventable epidemic of violence.

 

Gun violence is a public health crisis that must be stopped.  

 

Alongside the onset of our other current public health crisis, COVID-19, we have seen a spike in gun violence all across the country. The recent mass shootings in Atlanta, GA and Boulder, CO were the more visible tragedies among hundreds of others already this year. This is happening closer to home too. In District 11 shooting incidents have doubled in the past year, and are climbing faster than the overall city average increase of 92%. Like the pandemic, this surge in shootings has disproportionately affected communities of color; almost 96% of shooting victims between January 1, 2020 and Oct 1, 2020 were either Black or Latinx.

 

Our Solutions:

 

As a social worker, I know that preventing a problem instead of dealing with its aftermath is always the best approach. In order to build back better, and make our communities safe and secure for all of our residents, we must invest in a systematic, community based approach to prevent needless gun violence. 

 

In District 11, and citywide, we have many trusted, effective frontline organizations implementing the Cure Violence model of violence prevention. These groups deserve more public support. They work to identify youth at risk for retaliatory violence, target Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and provide resources and services to gun violence victims and their friends and family to prevent future violence. They provide young people with paid internships and job opportunities and conduct violence interruptions and mediations. They also raise awareness about the impacts of gun violence on communities of color, and advocate for gun safety legislation locally and nationally. 

 

In addition to community-based initiatives, we need to pass stronger gun violence prevention legislation at all levels of government. We must also remove barriers to preventive laws that are already in place but underutilized, such as the New York State Red Flag Gun Protection Law that helps family members and school officials to petition a court to suspend gun access to a person in crisis. 

 

As your City Council Member, I will fight for policies and initiatives that reduce all forms of gun violence and save lives:

 

Prioritize funding and support for community-based approaches to gun violence prevention. 

 

Advocate for stronger federal and state gun violence prevention laws:

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• Support passage of state laws including:

  • New York State Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Act (S.1049, A.5505): Creates stable funding for evidence-based hospital and community-based violence intervention programs.

  • Right to Sue Gun Manufacturers Bill (S.1048, A.6762): Relates to the dangers to public health and safety caused by gun manufacturing and determining whether this activity counts as a public nuisance.

• Support the Biden Administration’s gun safety executive orders and calls for Congress to  ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and increasing investment in evidence-based community violence interventions.

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