I read this piece the other day, and its been gnawing at me.
Under Ceasefire, police teamed up with community leaders to identify the young men most at risk of shooting someone or being shot, talked to them directly about the risks they faced, offered them support, and promised a tough crackdown on the groups that continued shooting. In Boston, the city that developed Ceasefire, the average monthly number of youth homicides dropped by 63 percent in the two years after it was launched. The U.S. Department of Justice’s “what works” website for crime policy had a green check mark next to Ceasefire, labeling it “effective”—the highest rating, and one few programs received.
Act now to save lives! The Bloomberg group begs, “Take action to prevent gun violence!” they say!
There are proven solutions to prevent gun violence and keep our kids and families safe from harm. We can work together to make every town safer and demand that lawmakers follow our lead. Be part of a movement of millions of everyday Americans taking action.
Moms Demand Action supports the 2nd Amendment, but we believe common-sense solutions can help decrease the escalating epidemic of gun violence that kills too many of our children and loved ones every day.
Yet, all the action they say you need to take is to donate. To them. So they can do what? Your generous donation helps us work to save lives!
Turns out, saving lives actually isn’t on the agenda. Apparently, when presented with “proven solutions” to ending “gun violence” our friends had this to say:
The national groups that spend the most money and do the most advocacy related to gun violence have concentrated almost exclusively on passing stricter gun control laws. Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said he’s “very supportive” of strategies like Ceasefire, but “it’s not our lane.”
A spokeswoman for Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety said much the same. “We’re focused on what we know, which is how to improve the laws,” said Erika Soto Lamb.
You want to save lives? Maybe find ways to implement programs like Operation Ceasefire. Why not use that money you raise to fund programs like Ceasefire. Root cause mitigation seems to actually work. Passing laws that don’t move the needle doesn’t.
Being good at not solving the problem seems more than a waste.
I’d say the ball is actually in Brady/Bloomberg/Mom’s court, put your money where your mouth is, fund these programs. Pass laws that fund these programs.
Or stop pretending its about saving lives…