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 in virtually every civilized country in the world. The contest was open to all high [...]

On Wednesday, March 14, high school students across the country are planning to walk out of class and/or engage in other activities to demand the adoption of definitive gun control laws in our country to prevent further mass shootings like the one that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14. The national student action, which was inspired by the activism of the surviving Marjory Stoneman Douglas students, is scheduled [...]

Following the mass killing of 20 first grade children and six adult staff in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December of 2012, former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded herself by a gunshot to the head in a mass shooting in January, 2011, issued the following statement: In response to a horrific series of shootings that has sown terror in our communities, victimized tens of thousands of Americans, and left [...]

An edited version of following letter to the editor regarding the November 14, 2017  Tehama County, California mass shooting, which included a shooting at Rancho Tehama Elementary School, was published in the November 26 issue of the Sacramento Bee.   What To Tell Children About Mass Shootings The two articles in the Sunday Bee concerning the Rancho Tehama Elementary School shooting describe a “family fun day” featuring “pizza and hugs;” security measures such as lockdown [...]

Americans Against Gun Violence president Dr. Bill Durston was invited by the California State Treasurer's office to speak at the meeting of the Board of Directors of the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) on November 1 concerning a proposal by Treasurer John Chiang that CalSTRS completely divest from any companies involved in the distribution or sale of guns that are banned in California. CalSTRS, which has $215 billion in assets, had previously divested from [...]

Joshua Sugarmann An interview with the keynote speaker at our October 22nd annual dinner will be aired on Sacramento's Capital Public Radio Insight program between 9-10 AM and again between 7-8 PM on Wednesday, November 1, the one month anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting.     The interview with Joshua Sugarmann, who is the founder and executive director of the Violence Policy Center in Washington DC, was recorded at the CPR studio the morning [...]