Today, June 4th, is National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
I like to acknowledge this day. I think it’s important to have a day where we make it a point to talk about the epidemic of gun violence. I buy the orange shirts and I make the social media post and I share the statistics.
Awareness is the first step of solving problems, isn’t it? We can’t begin to solve the problem without being aware of it first. Awareness is good.
But, we should be well past awareness at this point.
We were aware of gun violence on December 1, 1997 when 3 students were killed and 5 were injured at a school in Paducah, Kentucky.
We were aware of gun violence on April 20, 1999 when 15 people were killed and 21 were injured at Columbine High School.
We were aware of gun violence on April 16, 2007 when 32 people were killed and 17 were injured at Virginia Tech.
We were aware after Pulse.
We were aware after Las Vegas.
We were aware after Parkland.
Communities across the country are aware at all hours of everyday because for them, gun violence isn’t a national news story, it’s simply a reality of their lives.
Awareness doesn’t really mean much if we aren’t actually paying attention. It doesn’t really mean much if it isn’t followed up by action, systemic change, and a cultural shift.
Awareness is good, but it will take people who are paying attention and who are willing to carry the burden of gun violence as their own, if we are to see progress toward a safer country.
So I will acknowledge National Gun Violence Awareness Day today. I will share the statistics and the facts. I will ask people to pay attention and to care. And I will ask people to move beyond awareness into action.
If you’re ready to move beyond awareness and into meaningful conversations that lead to societal change, I want to invite you to join me on the Launch Team for my book “When Thoughts and Prayer’s Aren’t Enough”.
What is a Launch Team? A book launch team is simply a group of people who want to help launch a book into the world by reading it early, talking about it, sharing links for purchase, and leaving reviews.
You’ll have access to an early digital copy of the book to read and review, along with discussion guides, graphics, etc. We want to offer everything to make sharing the book easier.
All you have to do to join the team is sign up here! We do ask that if you are able, you pre-order a copy of the book! However, if you can’t afford to do that right now, please don’t let that deter you! We have a code for you to use in place of the receipt number so that cost is not a barrier.
Thank you so much for considering helping to launch this book into the world. It means so much to me.