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Date: 6/15/2024
Subject: Convention Delegates: Gun Violence Position
From: Rionda Osman



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Task Force Members Who Are Delegates to Convention !

Please spread the word about the LWV Greater Pittsburgh proposal to update the position on gun safety.   The Colorado delegation will be meeting on Tuesday, 18 June 2024, at 5:30. 

 

 

Below are links provided by Greater Pittsburgh to explain their proposal, which, I am told, will not be part of the program but will be brought from the floor. 

 
It is true that we in Colorado have used the existing position to support legislation that in other parts of the country is not possible.  However, new language that acknowledges the pervasiveness of firearms and the necessity of managing the effects on our common good may empower all of us to seek more wide-ranging and effective solutions. 
 
The Greater Pittsburgh position encourages a public-health approach to the issues and problems of gun violence, and their study lays out clearly what they think can work and what they know does not. 
 
Please read the proposal.  One hope I have is that these kinds of approaches will open discussions that are less polarizing than often seems possible at present.  Please share your opinion with other delegates. 
 
I hope you can support this proposal.   Rionda

LWV Greater Pittsburgh Proposal

At Convention later this month, LWV Greater Pittsburgh will ask for a concurrence on their gun safety position.  Essentially, they are seeking to address the pervasiveness of firearms and violence from a public health perspective.  Their study and reflections are detailed in the links below. 

From the position statement of LWV Greater Pittsburgh: 

After consulting with many stakeholders, including gun owners and law enforcement officers, and considering many potential solutions, the LWVPGH endorses a public health approach to reducing gun violence. That is, we endorse using research-based strategies that measure success in terms of public health and safety, using steps such as those taken in other public health campaigns to reduce smoking or promote use of seat belts. These steps can include regulations such as product safety requirements, licensing and registration, public education campaigns, restrictions on sales, and taxation to cover public costs of gun violence.


The LWVPGH specifically rejects the following approaches as insufficient, ineffective or misguided in reducing gun violence:


-- We reject the assertion that the Second Amendment prohibits the regulation of firearms.
--We reject the idea that gun violence should be addressed primarily as a law-enforcement problem.
--We reject the idea that our gun violence problem can or should be solved by “hardening” schools, government buildings, public transportation infrastructure and public venues such as malls, houses of worship, concert halls, theaters or other gathering places.
--We reject the idea that more armed citizens will increase public safety.



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