FCNL lobbies to stop gun violence
Violence interrupter programs are ‘proven, community-led solutions to stop community violence before it happens’
A US Quaker has called for US Congress to stop community gun violence by investing in ‘violence interrupter programs’.
Violence interrupter programs are ‘proven, community-led solutions to stop community violence before it happens’, according to Friends Committee for National Legislation (FCNL). Describing gun violence as ‘a slow-motion war in our streets, homes, places of worship, and everywhere we might go’, Washington Friend Peter Murchison said, on FCNL’s website, that some progress was finally made at the federal level, with the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Community Act in 2022. This act makes various changes to federal firearms laws, including: to expand background check requirements; broaden the scope of existing restrictions; and establish new criminal offences.
But much more is needed, he said. ‘Necessary steps include a federal ban on assault weapons, more funding for violence interrupters, and repealing the 2005 law that protects gun manufacturers from lawsuits. These measures have been proven to work. During a federal ban on assault weapons from 1994-2004, mass shootings dropped 37%, and the resulting fatalities dropped 43%.’
Peter Murchison described advocating for preventing gun violence as sometimes ‘challenging and, frankly, a bit lonely. So, the opportunity to spend time with more than 300 young and motivated people who came to Washington, D.C., to lobby for dedicated funding for Community Violence Interrupters was refreshing’.
The young participants at the FCNL Spring Lobby weekend explored the ‘many forms of gun violence’ and potential solutions, both legislative and non-legislative. These included ‘memorials, gun buybacks, and the “guns to gardening tools” movement’.
The young adult attenders learned that a handgun in their house is twenty-two times more likely to be used against a family member or friend than an intruder – and that more US citizens have been killed by guns since 1968 than in all the wars in which the US has participated.
The participants also learnt that most US citizens favour changes to the laws, like closing the loopholes in background checks.
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