Addressing Gun Violence

Last Sunday, Live Free Rockford held a Violence Intervention Training. Several UU members attended, including Rev. Joyce. Gun violence is distinguished from domestic violence, although domestic violence often results in gun violence.

Several annual statistics were cited: 1,000 people are shot by police each year; 23,000 people are shot in the US; half of all suicides are by guns; there are 13,000 firearm homicides each year. With so many victims, why isn’t this a priority in the United States? Defenders of the second amendment right to bear arms hide these statistics.

The root causes of gun violence, according to Live Free, are poverty and racism. These two environmental factors lead to a lack of agency, frustration, and depression, which lead to behaviors like gun violence.

To address the problem of gun violence, we need to raise the income level of poor people and fight racism. We need to support direct service like street outreach teams and mental health services. Incarceration doesn’t solve the problem. We need to advocate for equitable policies that align with restorative values.

One definition of “power” is getting an elected official to do what he doesn’t want to do because of the power of voting. In order to be at the table, we need to vote. Registering voters and getting them to vote is the best strategy to change policies.

Submitted by Teresa Wilmot