"Pious condolences will no longer suffice…"
"Quarter measures and half measures will no longer suffice…"
"The time has now come that we must enact stringent gun control legislation…"
"…gun control legislation comparable to the legislation in force in virtually every civilized country in the world."

Senator Thomas Dodd, June 11, 1968

About Bill Durston

Bill Durston, M.D., is a board certified emergency physician who has treated innumerable civilian gunshot victims during a medical career spanning more than 40 years. Before becoming a physician, Durston served in combat with the U.S. Marine Corps during the height of the Vietnam War. He qualified as an expert marksman in the Marines and was decorated for "courage under fire" as a patrol leader with the Marines' prestigious Third Force Reconnaissance Company. Dr. Durston has worked in the area of gun violence prevention with numerous organizations, both medical and non-medical, throughout his career. In 2016, he co-founded Americans Against Gun Violence to fill the need for a national organization that would openly advocate adopting stringent gun control laws in the United States comparable to the laws that have long been in effect in all the other high income democratic countries of the world. Dr. Durston continues to serve as the founding president of Americans Against Gun Violence.
Sep 12, 2019

Who’s To Blame When a 14 Year Old Boy Shoots and Kills His Entire Family?

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

Who's To Blame when a 14 Year-old Boy Shoots and Kills His Entire Family? A Message from the President of Americans Against Gun Violence September 12, 2019   Late on the night of Monday, September 2, a 14 year old boy in the small town of Elkmont, Alabama, called 911 to report that he heard gunshots in his home. When police arrived, they found one adult and two children dead in the home, apparently as [...]

Who’s To Blame When a 14 Year Old Boy Shoots and Kills His Entire Family?2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
Sep 09, 2019

Reservations are now closed for our November 3 Annual Dinner

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

Reservations are now closed Americans Against Gun Violence annual dinner on the evening of Sunday, November 3, at the Hilton Arden West, 2200 Harvard Street, in Sacramento, California.  If you've already made reservations, we look forward to seeing you there. Doors open for social hour at 5:00 PM, dinner will be served from 6:00-7:00 PM, and the program will begin at 7:00. Don't forget that daylight savings time ends on Sunday morning.  We're holding the dinner [...]

Reservations are now closed for our November 3 Annual Dinner2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
Aug 26, 2019

Americans Against Gun Violence Asks the Supreme Court to Reverse a Death Sentence that was Wrongly Decided

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

Sacramento California, August 26, 2019: Americans Against Gun Violence has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of New York City in the Supreme Court case of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYRPA) v. New York City. In this case, the NYRPA is claiming that New York City's ban on carrying handguns anywhere other than to or from city-approved firing ranges violates the Second Amendment, as the Supreme Court interpreted the Amendment in the 2008 Heller decision. Although [...]

Americans Against Gun Violence Asks the Supreme Court to Reverse a Death Sentence that was Wrongly Decided2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
Aug 25, 2019

We’re Asking the Supreme Court to Reverse a Death Sentence that was Wrongly Decided

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

We're Asking the Supreme Court to Reverse a Death Sentence that was Wrongly Decided A Message from the President of Americans Against Gun Violence   In a study published in 2014 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, researchers from Stanford University estimated that at least 4% of prison inmates convicted of capital offenses were wrongly convicted.[1] In a number of cases, prosecutors knowingly withheld information that that would have proved that an inmate on [...]

We’re Asking the Supreme Court to Reverse a Death Sentence that was Wrongly Decided2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
Aug 04, 2019

Americans Against Gun Violence Responds to Gilroy, California, El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio Mass Shootings

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

Sacramento California, August 4, 2019: Americans Against Gun Violence extends heartfelt sympathy to the friends, family, and community members of the more than 30 people who were killed in three separate mass shootings within the past week, including the shootings in El Paso and Dayton that occurred within the past 24 hours. We also extend sincere wishes for a prompt and complete recovery to the scores of other victims who suffered non-fatal injuries in these [...]

Americans Against Gun Violence Responds to Gilroy, California, El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio Mass Shootings2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
Jun 02, 2019

These Students Get It: Announcing the Winners of our 2019 National High School Essay Contest

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

These Students Get It: Announcing the Winners of our 2019 National High School Essay Contest A Message from the President of Americans Against Gun Violence Over the past 10 days, we’ve been receiving acknowledgements to the congratulatory notices that we sent to the winners of our 2019 Americans Against Gun Violence National High School Essay Contest. The last acknowledgement from one of our top 12 winners came in on Thursday. I was looking forward to [...]

These Students Get It: Announcing the Winners of our 2019 National High School Essay Contest2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
Jun 02, 2019

Americans Against Gun Violence Responds to Virginia Beach Mass Shooting

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

Sacramento California, June 2, 2019: Americans Against Gun Violence extends heartfelt sympathy to the families, friends, and coworkers of the 12 people who were killed in the mass shooting in the Municipal Center in Virginia Beach on Friday, May 31. We also extend our sympathy and wishes for a prompt and complete recovery to the other victims who suffered non-fatal wounds in the attack. An NPR reporter who lives in Virginia Beach, Sara McCammon, commented on [...]

Americans Against Gun Violence Responds to Virginia Beach Mass Shooting2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
May 26, 2019

Announcing the Winners in the 2019 Americans Against Gun Violence National High School Essay Contest

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

The prompt for the 2019 Americans Against Gun Violence National High School Essay Contest was the following excerpt from the majority opinion written by the late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun in the 1980 case of Lewis v. United States: The Second Amendment guarantees no right to keep and bear a firearm that does not have "some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia." The contest was open to all high [...]

Announcing the Winners in the 2019 Americans Against Gun Violence National High School Essay Contest2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
May 24, 2019

2018 National High School Essay Contest

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

Announcing the Winners of the 2018 Americans Against Gun Violence National High School Essay Contest The prompt for the 2018 Americans Against Gun Violence National High School Essay Contest was the following statement made by the late Senator Thomas Dodd of Connecticut in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate on June 11, 1968: The time has now come that we must adopt stringent gun control legislation comparable to the legislation in force [...]

2018 National High School Essay Contest2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
May 15, 2019

Student Walkout at Vigil for STEM Charter School Mass Shooting Victims Highlights Importance of Our National High School Essay Contest

2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00

A Message from the President of Americans Against Gun Violence High school students attending a vigil in the school auditorium on the evening after the mass shooting on the campus of the STEM* charter school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, disrupted the program after U.S. Senator Michael Bennett (D-Colorado) and U.S. Representative Jason Crow (D-Colorado) spoke concerning the need for stronger gun laws to prevent such tragedies from recurring.[i] Prior to the comments by the congressmen, [...]

Student Walkout at Vigil for STEM Charter School Mass Shooting Victims Highlights Importance of Our National High School Essay Contest2022-10-09T13:43:48-07:00
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