​FOSTER SAFE + SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS
  • ​As gun violence continues to disproportionately impact Black, Latinx, Disabled, LGBTQIA+, and Economically Disadvantaged Youth, Federal legislators must act to provide students with a safer and more equitable learning environment in all public schools.
  • In New York State we are calling on legislators to end harsh and inequitable codes of conduct that are counterproductive, harmful, and often lead students on a destructive path towards conflict, violence, and the criminal justice system.  Instead, students need supportive, restorative, and just practices and protocols that will facilitate success and break the cycle of violence and incarceration.

​FUND GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH
  • Provide the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) with dedicated funding to research gun violence as a public health issue. 
  • Expansion of New York Funding for Gun Violence Research: We are grateful that New York has taken a step towards researching gun violence but we are advocating for more money and the creation of a gun violence research institute to be created at the State University of New York (SUNY).
    • NYS Gun Violence Research Institute Bill of 2019 A.3008(Simon)/S.1083 (Persaud):  This legislation would appropriate $2 million to pay for and create a New York State firearm violence research institute and fund.  
    • The Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium: New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island plan to designate institutions of higher education to create a Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium.  The consortium will be comprised of public health, social welfare, public policy, and criminal justice advocates who will share and examine data to inform policymakers nationwide.

FUND EVIDENCE-BASED, INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS
  • An inclusive approach to reducing gun violence requires not just new policies, but investment in programs that address the root causes of gun violence. Federal, state, and local leaders should invest in evidence-based violence reduction strategies that engage all community stakeholders and have been proven effective.
  • In New York State we are advocating for funding for the expansion of cure violence initiatives and educational programs. This has been proven effective at preventing the cycle of violence and informing youth about the dangers of gun violence and ways to prevent and reduce gun violence.
    • New Yorkers Against Gun Violence ReACTION Youth Program: We are grateful that New York State is taking steps towards funding this program, and highly appreciative of New York City for investing in this program. However, we are advocating for funding to be doubled in order to expand this program into many more schools throughout New York. 

​ENACT UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
  • Federal law only requires you to obtain a background check if you purchase a gun from a licensed dealer. Proposals for universal background checks would require all firearms transactions in the United States to be recorded and go through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Closing what is sometimes called the private sale exemption. We must close these private sale loopholes, and make sure all sales undergo a background check in order to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. 

​END GUN TRAFFICKING 
  • Guns are being transported into states with strong gun laws from states with weaker gun laws. Facilitating easy access of illegal guns into vulnerable communities. Yet, there is no federal law specifically targeting gun trafficking. Laws must be enacted to address gun trafficking, and should focus law enforcement attention on the sources of guns rather than the possessors of guns, which would reduce the flow of weapons into susceptible neighborhoods. We must hold all networks accountable to law for flooding communities with guns. While ensuring that laws do not lead to mass incarceration of impacted communities, and maintaining an oversight on the discretion of law enforcement during it's implementation. 

​ESTABLISH EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS
  • An extreme risk protection order (ERPO) is a civil remedy that allows family members or law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from a person who poses an imminent risk of harm to themself or others. For the duration of the protection order, the individual is also prohibited from buying new guns. ERPO laws include robust due process protections—including notice to the respondent and an opportunity to be heard and present evidence—as well as the requirement of a judicial finding of risk prior to the issuance of an order. ERPO laws are designed to provide a legal tool to intervene when there are warning signs that an individual is experiencing a temporary crisis, poses a risk of harm to self or others, and possesses a gun. We must make these protection orders available in every state. (Read more: here)​
  • New York State made great strides in leading the efforts to protect those in crisis and their communities when passing the New York Extreme Risk (“Red Flag”) Protection Order bill into law on February 25, 2019. We strongly supported and advocated for NYS ERPO's, Law–S2451, enactment. 
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