It is a national tragedy that guns are the leading cause of death among young people in the United States. Alone, this tragic statistic should be a rallying point for all Americans as we marked National Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday.
As a Bethesda mom, public health expert and volunteer who has recently joined the Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action, I was honored to participate for the first time in our chapter’s Moms Demand Action’s 2024 Advocacy Day on Jan. 30 in Annapolis. I heard powerful stories from people who have lost loved ones to gun violence, and I listened to students from schools across Maryland speak eloquently about what it’s like to grow up with the threat of school shootings.
We can do better by our children and our communities. We don’t have to live this way. In fact, the United States is the only nation among our peers with such lax gun laws that we now have a gun-related public health crisis. I have worked in 42 countries around the world, and one of the most common questions I am asked in my travels is why the United States doesn’t do a better job of preventing gun violence. It disheartens me that this is a uniquely American crisis.
I wish I didn’t have to explain that common sense public health and prevention measures have been dismissed by extremist lawmakers in favor of increasing access to high-capacity weapons and decreasing measures such as background checks. In an average year in Maryland, 799 people die by guns. Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the state. Our state also has the 10th highest rate of gun homicide deaths in the U.S., with the rate increasing 74% from 2013 to 2022.
In just the past two weeks in Montgomery County, two 20-year-old men were fatally shot May 26 at a neighborhood park in downtown Silver Spring, according to county police. Four days later, an armed man was fatally shot by police in an apartment in the county’s Fairland community.
We have evidence-based public health solutions at our disposal. By building awareness of this national crisis and grassroots coalition building, we can elect lawmakers who put our safety first and enact solutions to protect all Americans. We have seen this model work in the past to prevent tobacco use, improve car safety, and reduce driving under the influence.
In Maryland, Moms Demand Action volunteers like myself are fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence. We work to pass stronger gun laws and close the loopholes that jeopardize the safety of families. We also work in our community to encourage a culture of responsible gun ownership. We know that gun violence is a public health crisis, and that Montgomery County is not immune. But we also know that gun violence is preventable, and we’re committed to doing what it takes to keep families safe.
On Saturday, we recognized the 10th annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day in an event at Wheaton Regional Park and Wear Orange Weekend that ran through Sunday. Wear Orange began in 2015 when teenagers in Chicago wanted to honor their friend, Hadiya Pendleton, after she was shot and killed.
We wear Orange, the color traditionally worn by hunters, to demand a future free from gun violence. Orange symbolizes the value of each person’s life, and we wear it to honor those killed, wounded, or impacted by gun violence, and to call for an end to this crisis.
Gael O’Sullivan lives in Bethesda.