The Oregon chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statement after at least six people were shot, one fatally, near Normandale Park during a protest of the fatal police shooting of Amir Locke. Two people have been taken into custody. Details are still unfolding.
“Our hearts are with the survivors and families impacted by this shooting,” said Amie Wexler, a volunteer with the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action. “No one should have their life taken while standing up for justice. Instead of sending thoughts and prayers, our lawmakers should use this as a wakeup call for our state. We need an investment in gun safety immediately.”
The shooting comes after a rash of shootings in Portland this week including six shootings in a nine hour span. Last year, Portland saw record gun violence and this year hasn’t slowed down. According to Oregon Live, the number of shooting incidents during the first month of 2022 outpaced January 2021. This session, lawmakers should focus on addressing the gun violence crisis in the state by allocating additional funding for violence intervention programs. The funding would support community-based violence intervention programs that apply a localized approach to reducing gun violence in Oregon’s hardest-hit neighborhoods and communities.
In August, Everytown for Gun Safety, in partnership with the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), released a new report documenting over 610 armed demonstrations that have taken place across the United States since the start of 2020. The report shows that overall, armed demonstrations are more than six times more likely to be violence or destructive.
More information on gun violence in Oregon is available here. To speak with a Moms Demand Actionand/or Students Demand Action volunteer about their advocacy this session, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
