HOW MANY MORE? [Article]

In the United States over 40,000 people die from gun violence each year. In our most recent campaign, we compared gun violence deaths to soldiers lost in war. Our intent was not to disregard the tragedy and pain that comes with wartime casualties. But it is an important comparison to make when we consider that many citizens experience gun violence during their day-to-day life.

 

Since Joaquin was killed in the Parkland shooting 5 years ago, we’ve lost over 200,000 lives to gun violence. That’s almost half the amount of soldiers the US lost in WWII. In 5 more years, we’ll have lost over 400,000 lives to gun violence, around the number of soldiers we lost in WWII.

400,000 lives lost every 10 years. 400,000 families having
an empty chair at the table. These 400,000 victims aren’t just a number,
they’re real people with lives ahead of them and dreams they’ll never get to
accomplish. We shouldn’t be okay with losing any lives to gun violence, let
alone surpassing the number of lives lost during a war with ease.

 

How many victims is enough for our government to put money
and politics aside and make a real change? Because they act like the 200,000,
we’ve lost since Parkland sure as hell isn’t.


by Ashley Weltner

@Ashleyweltner