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Changing the Conversation:America’s Gun Violence

Epidemic

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Main Points Gun Violence is not a partisan issue, it is an American

issue affecting urban, suburban, small town & rural communities

Public health is a unifying framework of diverse disciplines

Authentic public awareness creates momentum to refocus

Research must be funded and critical thinking expanded

Historically, strong coalitions invite a sustained conversation

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Creating a Fresh Conversation

Which Framework Offers Fresh Potential & Energy? Gun Rights vs. Gun Control Public Health and Prevention

Public Health is a Unifying Force Broadens & sustains the conversation Multiple disciplines combine forces

Strategies to Combat Epidemics Cast a wide net Offer solutions Plan preventive strategies Pinpoint the logical projections

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U.S. Gun Violence Before a child in the U.S. reaches 15 (compared to a

child in the rest of the industrialized world), he/she is: 5 times more likely to be murdered Twice as likely to commit suicide 12 times more likely to die of a gun related death

(per Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Matthew Miller: Journal of Trauma, February 2001)

History Politicians, law enforcement, media – all looked to for

leadership Rampant polarization makes none able to deliver results

Present Americans are longing for sensible solutions People divided – public awareness & critical thinking

needed Finding commonality to break through the polarization

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We Are All in this Together

We need a new a framework to help prevent: Suicides

The leading cause (55%) of gun fatalities annually Most often occur in rural and suburban areas

Urban Homicides Devastation and huge incarceration rates in central

cities

Domestic Violence Often the lead category of homicides outside of

urban centers 

Mass Shootings Increasing and knowing no boundaries

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Million Mom March for Sensible Gun Laws

Mothers Day, 2000 - in the wake of Columbine Called women and others to Washington to express moral

outrage and effect common sense gun laws Satellite marches across U.S. – in all totaled over a million Media downplayed – participants felt a turning point had

occurred MMM became part of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun

Violence

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2000 - 2012

Gun Lobby Escalates Political Activity

Unprecedented Levels of Political Polarization

Strategy shifts from reactive to proactive

State legislatures flood with efforts to expand gun rights

Increased pressure & bullying of politicians is rampant

Public Opinion Neutralizes

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Newtown, CT Momentum builds again in aftermath of horror

President Obama takes steps, including reinstatement of C.D.C. research on gun violence

Public Opinion is again shifting to moral outrage

How do we convert energy to create authentic change? NEED: A sustained conversation that will break through

polarization to inspire and immediately empower a diverse range of currently divided citizens to come together.

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Summary We need to think in complex ways about this dilemma – and we

need tools – to be able to act for as long as it takes:

Gun Violence is not a partisan issue, it is an American issue affecting urban, suburban, small town & rural communities

Public health is a unifying framework of diverse disciplines

Authentic public awareness creates momentum to refocus

Research must be funded and critical thinking expanded

Historically, strong coalitions invite a sustained conversation

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January 2013!“Martin Luther King, Jr. showed our nation a path toward equality and justice for all of its citizens. He didn’t do it through politics of hate and division. He did it by building a coalition of Americans from all backgrounds, bringing people together to accomplish a common goal. That is the spirit that defines America---and it is the heart of our grassroots network today. We know that if we work together, there is nothing we can’t achieve.”

Quote/Tammy Baldwin, January 17, 2013

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