Letter to the Editor: Common-Sense Gun Laws Must Be Pursued at the Federal Level
National Gun Violence Survivor Week is this week, Feb. 1-7, when the community honors survivors of gun violence and their resilience. Despite experiencing incredible trauma, they are leading work to support other survivors and advocating for common-sense measures that save lives.
As a volunteer for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, I am awed by the steadfastness of survivors who push through their profound, boundless grief to work toward ending the scourge of deaths by gun across our nation. Fifty-eight percent of American adults are survivors of gun violence, either having experienced it themselves or caring for someone who has experienced gun violence in their lifetime.
With a gun death rate 11 times greater than other high-income nations, more people are killed with guns in the U.S. by early February than are killed with guns in our peer countries in an entire calendar year. This is a travesty ripping at our collective sense of safety. No one is immune from becoming a victim of gun violence.
With the dramatic increase in gun ownership during the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to stem the tide of gun deaths and to enact common-sense gun laws like universal background checks at the federal level.
Naomi Marrow
Volunteer, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
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