2019 is on track to become a year in which there will be more mass shootings in our country than there are days in the year. A mass shooting is defined as an incident in which four people are shot excluding the shooter. According to the Gun Violence Archive which tracks all data for mass shootings, as of August 5, 2019, there have been 255 mass shootings, 3,237 total shooting incidents resulting in 8,796 gun deaths and 17,480 injuries in the United States.
It is time for us to say STOP!! ENOUGH!! There are no easy answers to resolving this problem but there are things each of us can do to help bring awareness and education to this issue. The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph recently released a statement calling for an end to gun violence. The Federation also offers suggestions we can all do to help bring awareness to gun violence. They are:
- Pray. Pray that we can turn our anger and sadness into advocacy and action.
- Call. Contact your Senators and ask them to pass the bipartisan background checks bill (House Bill 8) that was passed by the House earlier this year. To reach your Senators, call 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your senator. You will have to call twice to reach both Senators.
- Join a Local Organization. Join a local organization in your area advocating against gun violence or supporting victims of gun violence.
- Educate. Learn what roles systemic racism and white supremacy ideology play in contemporary justice issues.
- Examine. Examine yourself and your relationships for implicit bias to better understand the roots of prejudice in our society.
Join us in saying STOP. ENOUGH!
Click to view/download.
