The epidemic of gun violence has devastated our country – with deadly repercussions for women, people of color, and other marginalized communities. 36,000 Americans are killed by guns each year—an average of 100 per day— and 100,000 more are shot and injured.
Women in the U.S. are 21 times more likely to be killed by guns than women in other high-income countries. Firearm access escalates domestic violence to fatal ends, making it 500% more likely that an abusive partner will kill his female victim. Abusers also use guns to control and threaten their victims. While women of all races and ethnicities experience intimate partner violence, racial discrimination and economic injustice unfairly leave women of color with less access to protective services.
Overall, gun violence disproportionately impacts Black Americans, who are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die by gun homicide. Racial discrimination, police violence, public health disparities, “Stand Your Ground” laws, and underfunding urban neighborhoods all contribute to gun violence targeting communities of color.
Hate and guns are a deadly combination. 10,000 violent hate crime attacks involving firearms occur each year, and many more go unreported or misreported because of stigma and variance in state hate crime protections. Since 2015, hate crimes have become more numerous and more violent, the vast majority of which target communities of color, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTQ people. From the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting to attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions across the country, our community has experienced historic levels of bias-motivated violence.
No metric can adequately capture the pain or loss our communities have suffered, so we must work together to demand our elected officials put a stop to the tragic drumbeat of gun violence, white supremacy, and hate afflicting our nation. Our country’s weak gun laws are riddled with loopholes, but Congress continues to fail to pass even the most common-sense reforms to reduce gun violence. We need Congress to mandate background checks for all gun sales, ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, close the boyfriend loophole to prevent dating violence perpetrators from accessing guns, and prohibit individuals with a history of hate-motivated criminal conduct from accessing guns, among other gun safety laws. We also need to alter policing practices to put a stop to the oppression of communities of color and the lack of accountability among the police that perpetrate violence. These reforms, which a majority of Americans support, will save lives and build safer families and communities.
If you represent a Jewish organization, join our Jewish Gun Violence Prevention Roundtable. JWI knows that it is past time for the Jewish community to come together and use our collective strength to create safer communities. The Roundtable will approach this work through awareness, education/training, and advocacy. Let’s lift our collective voice and create change!
