Building Better Communities to Combat Gun Violence

Gun-related violence threatens our most fundamental human right: the right to life. Gun violence is a daily tragedy affecting individuals around the world. More than 500 people die every day because of violence committed with firearms.

However, the most recent initiatives to curb gun violence focuses on the symptoms rather than the root of the violence. Reducing the number of guns on the street does not eliminate gun violence. Gun violence is a symptom of despair in communities. Communities that have larger income disparities are more likely to see larger amounts of gun violence, as underserved communities are further affected by the rise of the cost of living and the inability to fund their basic needs in major cities across the United States. 

In July 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed that the Department of Justice will crack down on gun trafficking corridors as part of a comprehensive approach to combat surging gun violence. The DOJ created an initiative to reduce gun violence with five cross-jurisdictional strike forces by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in key regions across the United States. The Justice Department would crack down on gun trafficking corridors as part of a comprehensive approach to combat surging gun violence that also includes funding community intervention programs and other neighborhood groups. The Justice Department launched strike forces to confront the rise in gun violence in five U.S. cities — Chicago, New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

While reducing the amount of trafficking of guns is needed, it does not pull at the root of the issue. There needs to be a comprehensive long-term and short-term strategy to address the issues in the following areas:

Failure to create clear community specific goals across all impacted areas, limit the accountability across community and government stakeholders and weaken efforts to eliminate gun violence in America. LSG works with the federal and local government, as well as community-based organizations, to create clear and defined strategies to create impactful solutions that save lives.