Gun violence is yet again at the forefront of the national consciousness following Wednesday’s deadly high school shooting in Winder, Georgia. The tragedy that struck Apalachee High School, where four people were killed and nine others injured, has renewed calls for stricter gun laws from Democrats and gun safety advocates.
“We have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all,” Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said hours after Wednesday’s shooting at a campaign event in New Hampshire. She added, “It doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Advocates see Harris as the only and best candidate to build on progress in reducing gun violence, particularly in Black communities. Tackling the issue is a top concern for Black Americans, who are nearly three times more likely than white Americans to die by a gun.
According to a study conducted by the gun safety advocacy group GIFFORDS, 74% of Black voters want to see stronger gun laws. The survey, part of a $15 million campaign to highlight the issue of gun violence leading up to the Nov. 5 general election, also found that half of all Black voters are “extremely concerned” about the prevalence of gun violence in their communities compared to 24% of the overall voting population.
“They’re more impacted by community violence, everyday violence, the type of violence that, in comparison to mass shootings, for example, doesn’t get the proper coverage, the proper attention that is necessary to help tell the story of what is happening in these communities,” Aneesa McMillan, communications director at GIFFORDS, told theGrio.
GIFFORDS, which was founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, a survivor of a 2011 assassination attempt, has endorsed Harris in the 2024 presidential race. Giffords praised Harris’ “steadfast leadership” on the issue of gun violence, adding that the Democratic…
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