VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS Amnesty International USA believes that the U.S. has a duty to take positive action to address gun violence, especially where models exist that could reduce it while making a long term and life-changing impact on systemically disenfranchised communities.
TO DO THIS CONGRESS SHOULD: •
U.S. State and Local Governments should utilize funds from the American Rescue Plan to support gun violence prevention programs because increased gun violence and its disparate impact on Black and brown communities are tied to the pandemic and to the critical violence intervention workers working on the front lines to keep people safe from gun violence.
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The U.S. Congress should safeguard and pass the Biden Administration’s proposed $5 billion funding, as part of the American Jobs Bill. The funding will support evidence-based violence intervention programs that treat gun violence as a public health issue and focus on holistic approaches to healing communities most impacted by economic insecurity, chronic trauma, structural inequities and those disproportionately impacted by gun homicides.
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The U.S. Congress must pass the Break the Cycle of Violence Bill which would allocate $5 billion over the next eight years to community gun violence prevention and intervention programs that have proven effective in decreasing gun violence in communities where there are persistently high levels of firearm violence. • This funding should include funding for competitive grant programs to cities that develop effective, prevention-oriented violence reduction initiatives focused on young people at highest risk for violence and funding for grants that support the creation or expansion of hospital-based violence reduction initiatives with a focus on young people at highest risk for violence.
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The U.S. Administration should establish a comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing gun violence, particularly in Black and brown communities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: HEROES.AMNESTYUSA.ORG FROM PAIN TO PROGRESS: CONFRONTING THE STRUGGLE ON THE FRONT LINES OF AMERICA’S GUN VIOLENCE CRISIS
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