Welcome to Winning Wednesday!
You may have heard by now that guns are the #1 cause of death among American children (according to the CDC). Seven children a day were killed by gunfire in 2021. It goes without saying that guns kill far few children in other countries. It’s been really hard to get our government to do anything to stop the bleeding.
March For Our Lives, the organization founded by survivors of the Parkland school shooting to fight gun violence, won a big victory this week (Jan. 29). The White House created an Executive Order to improve gun safety standards nationally. For nearly six years, March For Our Lives has been advocating for the federal government to put gun violence prevention front and center on its agenda.
This executive order will make sure that firearms are kept locked away and safe, where kids can’t accidentally get access to them and hurt themselves or others—or worse.
While it’s just one stop along the way to eliminating gun violence, or at least bringing it down to something comparable to other countries, it shows that the “common sense” on guns is starting to move.
Winning Hearts and Minds
According to a Pew survey in spring 2023, 60% of US adults now say gun violence is a very big problem in the country today, up 9 percentage points from spring 2022. Two-thirds of parents say they are very or somewhat worried that their child may be affected by a school shooting. The NRA is on the wane, with their leader, Wayne LaPierre, currently on trial for corruption in his dealings there. David Hogg posted his thoughts and prayers for Wayne.
Key Elements In The Order
The order will be executed, it seems, by the White House’s first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the creation of which March For Our Lives fought for and won. Key highlights include:
US Department of Education will send a letter to school principals on the importance of safe firearm storage.
New communications templates for principals and school leaders to engage with parents and families on the importance of safe firearm storage.
A guide from the US. Department of Justice to provide subject matter expertise on different types of storage devices and best practices for safely storing firearms — the most comprehensive guide on safe storage ever released by the federal government.
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