Survivors of Gun Violence Summit Hosted at Library of Congress

The Jan. 26 Survivors of Gun Violence Summit brought together survivors, researchers, advocates and community leaders to discuss solutions and serve as a call to action regarding gun violence in the community. The symposium sought to elevate survivor-centric advocacy, data-driven solutions, community empowerment and a collaborative approach between the different organizations and leaders present.

“It was important to bring together stakeholders to support survivors of gun violence in their advocacy to prevent tragedies of losing loved ones to senseless shootings,” said Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-District 4). “Having science-based research and federal grants resources as part of that solution will be a cornerstone of the emerging strategies we look to deploy to attack this problem on the local, state, and federal level.”

Some of the participating organizations included the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention, Everytown for Gun Safety, MOMS Demand Action, the Community Justice Action Fund, and the University of Maryland Violence Reduction Center. County Council Chair Jolene Ivey (D- District 5) also participated in the summit.

“I think we all know that we have too many guns. We have too much access to guns,” Ivey said during an interview on Jan. 28 when asked about what is harming public safety in Prince George’s and the DMV at large. “Without federal help, it’s hard to address this. Even where we have legal guns, they can be stolen or sold and become illegal.” 

She also noted that ghost guns, which are unregistered and don’t have serial numbers, remain an issue to address.

Read this article on The Washington Informer.