Dear Members of Congress,

We are living in a generation where the significance of humanity seems evanescent; these instances of gun violence are acts of brutality, and a failure to act is a failure to all of humanity. What are we passing on to the next generation? We rest our trust in you, as legislators, to restore our hope in a safe society, where there isn’t a constant fear of gun violence. 

Our hearts are saddened, and our thoughts and wishes are with the victims and families affected by the dreadful series of shootings in El Paso, West Texas; and Dayton, Ohio. Unfortunately, these were not isolated instances, and people live in constant fear of gun violence as the death toll keeps rising.

The United States has the 32nd highest rates of deaths from gun violence. The National Center for Health Statistics reports 38,390 deaths by firearm, of which 24,432 were by suicide and 13,958 were homicides. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, the United States has seen at least 156 mass shootings in 2021. It is only April. Our plea was not only established as a response to the events of the past couple days: our plea speaks to the urgent need for gun control legislation as a result of the 156 mass shootings in 2021, 610 mass shootings in 2020, 417 mass shootings in 2019, etc. The numbers keep rising but we are yet to see concrete action to stop these tragic events.

We ask you to support the following policies in your respective legislative bodies:

1. The White House American Jobs Plan, which proposes a $5 billion investment over eight years to support community violence intervention programs;
2. The Firearm Licensing and Registration Act, which establishes a process for the licensing and registration of firearms and prohibits the possession of certain ammunition and large capacity ammunition feeding devices; 
3. The Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Research Act, which authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct or support research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention;
4. The Senate Gun Violence Prevention Research Act, which authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct or support research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention; and
5. The Gun Violence Reduction Resources Act, which authorizes the Department of Justice to hire 200 additional agents and investigators for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

As youth, we are disheartened that these calls for action have fallen on our shoulders, but we are hopeful: hopeful of a better future, hopeful for our communities, hopeful for our schools. In these circumstances, it is clear that the future of the nation depends on our ability to act now.

The Democratic Youth Coalition appeals to Congress to implement these long-needed measures to take action on gun control. Now, we humbly request all members of Congress to address the crises and make judicious choices.