Gun violence continues unabated in Fresno and U.S. We are organizing to stop it | Opinion

June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month. It’s a sad commentary that we need to be reminded that by mid-June, 19,422 Americans have died by guns and by December 31, we can anticipate that 42,000 of us will have died by gunfire. The U.S. gun homicide rate is 26 times that of other high-income countries, according Everytown Research & Policy.

And yet we do need reminding. More than half (57%) of gun deaths are suicides, 44% are gun homicides, and 4% are unintentional. Children and youth ages 17 and younger comprise 8% of gun deaths. Since 2020, firearms accounted for 19% of deaths of children 18 years old and younger, making guns the top cause of youth deaths. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data further reveal the racial disparity of gun homicides. Black children and youth are nearly 13 times more likely to be killed in a gun homicide than white children.

Fresno County exhibits similar patterns of social disparity. Using the 2020 Fresno County Coroner Report, Enough Gun Violence/Brady Greater Fresno has found that of the 120 homicides in Fresno County, 89% (100) were by guns. While the Black population represented only 5% of the county’s population in 2020, more than one-quarter (28%) of gun homicide victims were Black. Within the city of Fresno, nearly half (46%) occurred in just three Fresno zip codes — all demographically young, poor and generally racially segregated.

What will it take before America collectively arises and says, “Enough!” Current polling demonstrates that the U.S. population favors stricter gun laws, even among gun owners themselves. While the support varies depending on the focus of the legislation, 87% favor preventing people with mental illness from purchasing guns, and 64% favor banning sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines (Pew Research, quoted in Los Angeles Times). The legislation enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Biden one year ago this month marked the first gun safety legislation in many decades.

Fresno interfaith group organizes efforts

One year ago, on June 29, 2022, Enough Gun Violence, a grass-roots, interfaith initiative born at St. James Episcopal Cathedral, launched its work with a public event in which nearly 200 people listened to speakers and lamented the violence. We came away realizing that while we can’t do everything, we can — we must — do something. Since then, a group of community advocates has conducted two additional public events, with a local focus emerging in three areas:

• Legislative – gun safety laws for raising the minimum age of gun ownership, mental health limitations, assault weapons bans, limits on manufacture of ghost guns, and red flag laws;

• Mental health – especially related to suicide prevention, gun locks for use in homes, encouragement and guidelines for parents to ask about guns in homes before their children are exposed to harm;

• Social disparities – addressing root causes of gun violence in communities of color, especially related to educational standards, zoning, and government investment.

Recently Enough Gun Violence affiliated with Brady: United Against Gun violence, a national organization dedicated to the prevention of gun deaths. This move enhances our work in the greater Fresno area with legislative and other training to strengthen local action.

We Americans do not have to accept that 42,000 of us are killed every year by guns. While we acknowledge that the Second Amendment accords Americans the right to own guns, we reject the notion that the drafters of the Constitution intended American civilians to own assault weapons intended for use in wars. We further reject the notion that gun ownership is a right apart from the responsibility to use, and store, those guns responsibly. And we support enforcement background checks to ensure that guns are not put in the hands of people with mental health challenges or a history of violence. Put simply, we support common sense gun safety laws and their enforcement.

What can you do?

Become a member of Enough Gun Violence/Brady Greater Fresno. Register as a new member or email us directly at bradygreaterfresno@bradyunited.org. Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fresnobrady). And finally, join us at our next community event from 2:30-4:30 p.m. July 22 at Fresno City College to learn more about how you can participate in the movement to stop gun violence in Fresno and beyond.