Josh Fleitman: We must vaccinate against the gun violence epidemic, too
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A sleeping infant struck and killed by a stray bullet during a gunfight in Spring Hill. An elementary school teacher slain in her Westmoreland County home when someone shot into the incorrect house in retaliation over a drug deal gone wrong. A young, Black man, cornerback on his Catholic high school football team, gunned down after dark in Penn Hills. An estranged husband and wife in Upper St. Clair lost in a murder-suicide during a domestic dispute.
These are just some of the human stories behind the roughly 1,600 Pennsylvanians who have died from gun violence in the one year since the start of the pandemic, which has seen increased firearm deaths along with record gun sales. These are not just statistics to idly compile and accept as inevitable. These are loved ones’ lives forever changed by unimaginable trauma and loss. And they are also a call to action.
Just as we are acting to vaccinate against a pandemic that has killed over half a million Americans, we must vaccinate against the epidemic of gun violence.
The vaccine for this entirely preventable yet worsening epidemic is within reach: common-sense policies that have proven effective at saving lives while respecting responsible gun ownership. We simply need to muster the political will and marshall the sense of urgency that this crisis demands.
CeaseFirePA is building a statewide coalition of over 100 entities and counting to demand action. By bringing together faith communities, veterans groups, responsible gun owners, community organizations, medical professionals, local elected officials, gun violence survivors and others, we are showing that those with diverse perspectives and experiences around firearms can come together to advocate for lifesaving solutions.
We’ve joined forces to call for three policies that could be enacted today in Harrisburg and immediately make our communities safer — what we call our “Common Agenda” to end gun violence:
1. Universal background checks. Current state law already requires background checks for most gun sales, with one glaring loophole: the private sale of long guns such as shotguns and military-style semi-automatic assault rifles, which are most commonly used in mass shootings and attacks on police officers. This type of policy to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands is supported by 88% of Pennsylvania voters. Perhaps this could have prevented that infant’s tragic death in Spring Hill. (Senate Bill 88)
2. Extreme risk protection orders (ERPO). An ERPO empowers family members and law enforcement officers to go through a civil court proceeding with full due process protections to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms when they are an imminent risk to themselves or others. States that have passed such laws have seen declines in suicides and mass shootings. One wonders if the murder-suicide in Upper St. Clair could have been avoided, had this option been available. (Senate Bill 134 — introduced by state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Allegheny)
3. Requiring the reporting of lost and stolen firearms. An estimated 43,768 firearms were stolen in Pennsylvania between 2012 and 2017. Yet state law doesn’t require that these guns be reported to police. Lost and stolen guns appeal to those who cannot pass a background check and are the weapon of choice for criminals due to their difficulty to track. Reporting these missing weapons would help police to get illegal guns off the streets and interrupt straw purchasing schemes. Maybe this could have prevented the shooters from obtaining the weapons that killed the teen in Penn Hills and teacher in Westmoreland County. (Senate Bill 217)
If you are outraged by the senseless, preventable gun violence across Pennsylvania, I invite you to make your voice heard. Contact your state legislators to urge immediate action to save lives, and engage in those honest and respectful conversations about gun safety with family, friends, and neighbors.
We can end the epidemic of gun violence, but only if we treat it like the public health crisis that it is, and vaccinate accordingly.
Josh Fleitman is the Western Pennsylvania manager for CeaseFirePA.