The Board at the Minnesota Society for Clinical Social Work is overwhelmed with grief and sadness over the murders of 21 people, mostly elementary school-age children, in Uvalde, Texas on May 24th, 2022. Our collective heart breaks into a million pieces thinking that ANY child has to endure this tragedy that occurred less than two weeks after the racially motivated murders of 10 Black citizens in Buffalo, NY. The deaths in Uvalde will impact not only the families and community members, many of whom have personal connections to the victims of this horrific event. It also affects many of us, our loved ones, and people across our nation.
Our organization’s goal is clear: No more gun violence.
This true call to action is for every American to ask themself, “What individual actions can I take today to redress the ever more present problem of rampant gun violence and senseless death and work to create and preserve a healthier and safer nation, state, community, and neighborhood?” We must not become immune to gun violence. This is an epidemic we can change and control.
On June 4th, the New York Times published an article, The Mass Shootings Where Stricter Gun Laws Might Have Made a Difference.
There is much work to be done.
Whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we can do better. The MSCSW exhorts you to contact your elected representatives to support legislation to raise the minimum age for legal gun purchases, enhance background checks, including for the purchase of ammunition, enact red flag laws, and ban weapons of mass destruction such as semi-automatic rifles used in the Uvalde shooting.
On June 6, 2022, The Protecting Our Kids Act was passed by the House of Representatives. It
- raises the legal age to purchase guns to 21
- prevents gun trafficking
- prohibits undetectable firearms
- mandates safe storage of guns
- closes the bump stock loophole and
- restricts large-capacity ammunition feeding devices and uses funds for a buy-back program of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices
While we do not formally support any one particular gun violence prevention organization, some of our Board members have had positive experiences collaborating with Everytown for Gun Safety. Here is the link to their website.
We, as the Board of MSCSW, are committed to continually working to raise awareness of the impact of racism and gun violence on all of us, especially those in and around our neighborhoods, our State, and our nation, and to become agents of change in promoting laws and policies that protect those most vulnerable.
