BWJP Advocates for Solutions to the Gun Violence Epidemic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 25, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT:
Victoria Taylor, Communications Manager, BWJP | communications@bwjp.org
ST. PAUL, MN -- The slaughter of innocent lives with a firearm happened again yesterday in the community of Uvalde, Texas. Just as it happened last week in Buffalo, New York, and Southern California, and as they have occurred 693 times in 2021 alone.1 We as a nation must finally come to the same conclusion that people with guns kill people.
At BWJP, we know first-hand the harm people with guns do to others. Our project, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms works to educate the civil and criminal justice systems and non-profit organizations, and advocates on the dangerous role of abusers with access to firearms pose against women and children. Guns are frequently used in the intimate partner setting to threaten and control women and children and are strongly associated with lethality in the domestic violence context. From 2009-2014 there were 749 mass murders, and of those, 60% of the shooters had a criminal history of domestic violence.2 Poll after poll has shown that most Americans want stricter laws around gun purchases. We must advocate for removing guns from those who use them to harm others.
BWJP will continue our commitment to advocate for firearm relinquishment from people who are convicted of a domestic violence crime or a respondent in an order of protection. We will also continue to use our platform to collaborate with other gun violence movements to educate and advocate for stronger gun control laws and the changing of community norms.
Join us at noon eastern time on Friday, June 3, 2022, on our Twitter page @BatteredWomenJP for a conversation around gun violence and how each one of us can use our voice and individual platforms to advocate for stronger laws so that we can hopefully prevent the next homicide.
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About BWJP: BWJP is the national resource center on civil and criminal justice responses to gender-based violence (GBV). BWJP houses the following national projects: National Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms, National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit, the SAFeR Project, and National Center on Legal Approaches to Prevent Family Violence. BWJP also partners with the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women.
TAGS: #Firearms