On Wednesday, nearly 180 volunteers with the Washington chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, urged lawmakers to support SB 6294 and HB 1315, legislation to require concealed pistol license applicants to undergo training before being issued a license, and SB 6288, legislation to establish the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. During the day, volunteers representing 43 of the state’s 49 districts held more than 85 meetings with legislators urging them to focus on common-sense solutions to keep Washingtonians safe in their communities.
KCPQ – FOX 13 reported:
“Now, Ward volunteers with ‘Moms Demand Action’ in Olympia, lobbying for new laws that he believes would prevent a similar shooting from happening here.
‘I wanted to find a way to get involved, but it wasn’t until Adam was murdered that we felt this huge push to really get involved and prevent others from walking through this tragedy that we experienced,’ he said.”
Washington is one of only 10 states in the country that does not require training before issuing a license to carry a concealed handgun. More than 700 people are shot and killed every year in Washington, and gun suicide accounts for 76 percent of all gun deaths in the state. Concealed pistol license safety training legislation includes suicide prevention training, which could help save lives and lower overall gun deaths in the state.
Washington’s local communities are suffering from the tragic events of daily gun violence. There are ways to help reduce gun violence in Washington’s hardest-hit communities, and that includes passing legislation to establish a state Office of Firearm Violence Prevention that would award grants to cities in need through community violence intervention and prevention programming.
Here are some photos from the Washington chapter’s advocacy day:
Statistics about gun violence in Washington are available here, and information on how Washington’s gun laws compare to other states’ overall is available here.
If you have any questions, or would like to speak with volunteers with Washington Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action or survivors of gun violence, please don’t hesitate to reach out.