Gun Violence

Students address gun violence in D.C.

Image Available on Flickr

Left to right: AFSC Human Rights Learning student Diana Chicas; Washington, D.C. Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh; student Andy Bloom; D.C. Peace & Economic Justice Program Director Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana, after speaking with Councilwoman Cheh about gun control reform.

Photo: Bryan Vana

What motivates young people to take action on their beliefs? Human rights learning, and the DC Human Rights project in particular, might be an important piece of the puzzle.

On March 28, 2013—a National Day to Demand Action on Gun Violence—Andy Bloom and Diana Chicas, 17-year-old students from Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., came to City Hall to speak with Councilwoman Mary Cheh about gun violence.

To the families, teachers, and administrators of Sandy Hook Elementary School and the community of Newtown, Conn.:

There are no sufficient words to express our condolences, our grief and our compassion for your loss, yet we wanted to write to you to assure you that you are all in our thoughts, hearts and in our prayers.

gun violence mural

Image is a portion of 100’ community mural – Crown Heights, NYC, 200

So often our nation’s youth reach for their dreams, only to have those dreams ended by gunviolence. The death of Christina Green, a nine-year old girl, casts a long shadow over our nation and underscores a culture of violence. 

We stand with everyone holding in the Light the victims who lost their lives, those who remain wounded, and their families who will suffer so greatly as a result of the shooting in Tucson. 

UN small arms group

UN and NYC activists discuss small arms control

As the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms and Light Weapons was assembling at the United Nations in New York City, a smaller, quieter, but no less resolute group was convening on the same issue. On June 15, 2010, in the Church Center for the United Nations, a diverse mix of people and organizations came together to discuss the cancerous effect small arms and light weapons have on communities around the world.