A National Plan To End Gun Violence
By Max Markham
March for Our Lives has spent the last two and a half years organizing one of the strongest and most important political forces in this country: young people. In 2020, we were proud to contribute to one of the highest voter turnouts in history, with unprecedented participation by youth and first-time voters. In particular, BIPOC youth were crucial to delivering and flipping numerous key states — including Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia — in support of President Biden, motivated by issues like gun violence prevention and combating systemic racism.
President Biden and Vice President Harris owe their victory to our youth coalitions. And, as one of the most important political forces in this country, our diverse Gen-Z organizers and activists now look to the Biden-Harris administration to deliver on critical priorities where previous administrations have failed. Young people made our voices heard on the streets and in the voting booth, and we are optimistic about the opportunity to create lasting change on key issues of our generation — racial justice, mental health, climate change, and, of course, gun violence prevention.
It should come as no surprise to see that young people are more politically active and motivated than ever before. Climate change, immigration, poverty, student loan debt, and gun violence have shaped our childhoods and spurred us into action. While these are crises we all face, young people will carry the weight of generations past. For us, gun violence is now the leading cause of death among young men and young people of color and is the second most common cause of death for all youth after car crashes.
Our government’s legislative priorities have not begun to match the scope of the gun violence crisis. It has been over 25 years, nearly the entirety of my lifetime, since the last substantive change to our gun laws in Congress. And last year was the first time in two decades that federal money was directed to study gun violence — a paltry $12.5 million for the CDC and the NIH, respectively. Yet, an overwhelming and bipartisan majority of voters, not just young people, now support allocating funds towards community education and intervention programming, on top of background checks and other gun violence prevention measures.
At March For Our Lives, we are calling for President Biden to prioritize gun violence prevention, and commit to a comprehensive and unified national plan to address an issue that cuts short over 40,000 lives per year. We voted for bold leadership and meaningful change. And it must start with the President’s staff. To start, the President must appoint a Director of Gun Violence Prevention who reports directly to the President, leading a committee or task force empaneled to study and recommend related reforms. This appointment must reflect the understanding that gun violence is a public health crisis, incorporating a survivor-centered approach informed by communities. We also demand that any task force or committee must dedicate at least 25% of its membership to youth voices — Gen-Z and millennials, while also centering BIPOC community leaders, reflecting the diversity of the crisis in this country. This is what it will take to begin to see meaningful change.
It is no secret that gun violence has disproportionately plagued Black and Brown neighborhoods in cities across the nation. According to the CDC, 2020 had the highest recorded rate of gun violence deaths in at least 40 years, with over 41,000 deaths due to firearms. This included more than 23,000 people who died by suicide. Gun homicides have also reached all-time highs in cities such as Milwaukee and Cincinnati, while many others, from New York to Atlanta to Chicago, are seeing their highest rates in years or even decades.
In order to address structural inequities and end gun violence, victims of gun violence need investments in their communities to treat underlying conditions — addressing social mobility and social determinants of health. To do this, we must utilize community programming that has already proven effective and meet this moment with evidence-based and trauma-informed services to high-risk individuals. We must invite residents of impacted communities to participate in the development of their solutions. And, above all, we must prioritize adequate funding.
Young people see that your budget tells your story, and in order to address record levels of gun violence, we need a record level of funding: a short-term commitment of at least $1 billion. A national plan to combat gun violence cannot be successful without a dedicated source of funding, and President Biden has numerous tools at his disposal to deliver short- and medium-term funding. It is going to take a holistic approach to end this issue, and our futures are at stake. The White House needs to set a bold path forward and empower communities across the country. The young people are watching.
Max Markham is the Policy Director of March For Our Lives.