After Yet Another Mass Shooting, Americans Should Do Something Different: Commit to Live Unloaded
CHICAGO – As a massive manhunt continues in Maine following a mass shooting, two things are clear: At least 16 people are dead and gun culture must change. In response to the mass violence, Project Unloaded released the following statements.
“We will not stop this epidemic until we change the narrative on guns,” said Nina Vinik, the founder and executive director of Project Unloaded and a 20-year veteran of the gun violence prevention movement. “Terrifying tragedies rip at our sense of safety and as a result, more Americans consider getting a gun. But the result of more guns isn’t more safety, it’s more death. This violence, along with the violence that devastates communities every day across America, is the predictable outcome in a nation awash in guns. While we mourn for those whose lives were taken and forever changed by this tragedy, we also owe it to them – and everyone impacted by gun violence – to do more to stop gun violence. And that starts by telling the truth about what’s causing these tragedies to continue: It’s the guns.”
“We should refuse to normalize moments like this,” said Karly Scholz, a member of the Project Unloaded Youth Council. “Too many of us know what it’s like to shelter in place for hours and worry for the safety of our peers and loved ones. We all deserve better, but we won’t reach that better future until we change our gun culture so that it’s rooted in the facts. More guns make us less safe. And it’s on all of us to help spread that crucial, life-saving message.”
###