For Immediate Release:
December 6, 2023
For More Information:
Josh Fleitman, CeaseFirePA Education Fund’s Campaign Director, (412) 426-5148, josh.fleitman@ceasefirepa.org
MEDIA RELEASE
New Video Storytelling Project: Survivors Reveal the Policy Gaps that Allow Gun Violence to Wreak Havoc
Behind Most Gun Deaths is a System that’s Designed to be Deadly
Every day, about 12 Pennsylvanians are injured or killed by a gun. A new project launched today by CeaseFirePA Education Fund is tracing many of those shootings back to a system designed to allow this violence to flourish. Deadly by Design: Facing the Truth About Gun Violence in PA, features Pennsylvania gun violence survivors telling their own stories. The project is intended to educate Pennsylvanians and policymakers about how critical failures to put in place life-saving policies directly allow specific acts of gun violence to destroy lives.
“It’s time to face the truth: gun violence isn’t random or inevitable. It’s not driven by mental health, video games, or too few armed guards. It’s driven by easy access to guns,” said Josh Fleitman, Campaign Director of CeaseFirePA Education Fund. “We’ve heard the ongoing trauma. Now, Pennsylvanians are sharing the losses they’ve suffered under a system that is Deadly by Design. Because they know the best way to save the next life is to change that system.”
The launch features six video stories that reflect the full scope of the gun violence crisis, from suicides and domestic violence, to community-based homicides, to mass shootings in every type of Pennsylvania community. Pennsylvanians can share their gun violence survivor stories with CeaseFirePA Education Fund on the website, and new videos will be regularly added to the catalog over the coming months.
“Sadly, there is no shortage of stories to tell about how preventable acts of gun violence are ravaging Pennsylvania. We’ll keep uplifting more and more voices until all Pennsylanians understand that gun violence is driven by a system – and lives can be saved with systemic reforms,” said Fleitman.
Explore and watch the full collection of stories at: DeadlyByDesign.org
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As the Commonwealth’s leading gun violence prevention organization, CeaseFirePA Education Fund organizes communities closest to the issue, holds those in power accountable, and maximizes the strengths of every member in its broad coalition.
