“We fight on in their memory” — Another Deadly Weekend in America

New York, NY — “A weekend of deadly gun violence distills once again the uniquely American epidemic—a crisis that has disproportionately impacted young people and people of color. In Kansas City, a white man shot through the door at a 16-year-old Black boy who made the innocent mistake of mixing up which house to pick up his brothers from. Just twenty-four hours later, thanks to Stand Your Ground laws that legalize racist shootings, the white shooter was released from custody. In Alabama, four young people were killed and 28 were injured at a birthday party, making it a mass shooting with the most injuries since the Highland Park shooting in Illinois last July. Only in America can a sweet sixteen birthday party turn into a graveyard. 

Alabama has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and Missouri, like many other states, has Stand Your Ground laws in place which condone violence by removing the legal requirement to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense. Let’s be clear: Extremists may control legislatures in places like Alabama and Missouri, but young people will die if we don’t fight for gun safety in every corner of this country. Power to the young people who lost their lives this weekend. We fight on in their memory.”

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