Rep. Miranda, Thomas Celebrate Gun Violence Prevention Summit, Commonsense Solutions to Keep Communities Safe
COLUMBUS – State Reps. Jessica E. Miranda (D-Forest Park) and Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati), co-founders of the Gun Violence Prevention Caucus, yesterday celebrated the success of the inaugural Gun Violence Prevention Summit (GVPS) hosted Thursday by the House Democratic Caucus at the Ohio Statehouse.
“Yesterday, we held the first ever Gun Violence Prevention Summit here at the Statehouse. We brought together some of the leading advocates for gun violence prevention in this nation to talk about solutions and how to best advocate for the end of gun violence in this country,” said Rep. Miranda. “Every day, gun violence is hurting our families and creating everlasting traumas that we could instead be preventing through gun safety legislation. From everyday shootings in shopping malls, schools, and places of worship, to retaliatory gun violence in neighborhoods, gun violence has touched every American in some way. It doesn’t have to be this way. Ohioans should be able to live free from the fear of gun violence in their neighborhoods and we should be putting people first.”
“I was thrilled to be part of the Inaugural Gun Violence Prevention Summit with my co-founder Rep. Miranda. Common sense gun safety laws are necessary. This is how we save lives; this is how we can feel safe; this is how our children grow up feeling secure in their schools,” said Rep. Thomas. “If we work together, if we use our voices to loudly oppose gun propaganda, we can get common sense gun safety passed into law. It’s what we know the people of our great state want. It’s what they deserve.”’
As part of its People First agenda, House Democrats introduced several new legislative solutions around the GVPS promoting gun safety measures supported by a bipartisan majority of Ohioans. Other gun safety legislation introduced today includes:
- Keeping Our Survivors Safe Act (Reps. Grim, Munira)
- Declaring Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis (Rep. Brewer)
- Commonsense Concealed Carry (Reps. Brown, Isaacsohn)
- Ohio Task Force on Gun Violence (Rep. Brewer)
The GVPS featured the following panels led by House Democrats, other elected officials, law enforcement officers and public safety and health stakeholders:
- Keeping Guns out of the Hands of Dangerous Individuals
- Promoting Responsible Gun Ownership
- Defeating Pro-gun Crime, Anti-cop Laws
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pictures from Thursday’s GVPS courtesy of Ohio House Democrats can be found here, and a graphic listing the five new pieces of legislation House Democrats introduced this week is attached to this press release. Additionally, the full GVPS video can be viewed and downloaded here.