We must be able to live in a world without violence. We must be able to live in a world without gun violence. Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, just outside of York, Pennsylvania, an individual killed three police officers and a local ATF agent shot and killed an 18-year-old in Aliquippa. This comes after Marchello Woodard was killed by a state parole agent in Erie, Pa., in July of this year.
The events of the past few weeks shows violence has become normalized within our society which must be of concern to every Pennsylvanian. Gun violence permeates every fabric of our society regardless of identity and socioeconomic status. Anyone is able to become a victim of gun violence. Anyone is able to become a victim of violence. Every single one of us is impacted by gun violence.
In order to move beyond a culture of death and destruction, we must create systems and conditions where violence is not even an afterthought. We must work to create a reality where violence is foreign and eradicated from our lives locally and globally. We must mourn every life taken by violence and fight to make sure our children are able to grow old in a world curated for their wellbeing.
In order to create a world without violence, we must begin to create conditions of liberation where the focus is ensuring that people are able to live and thrive where they are living. We must have affordable housing, access to healthcare, fully funded schools, livable wages, walkable neighborhoods, and community resources.
We must also create policies such as inclusionary zoning and Stop The Violence Fund that allow for people to live and thrive where they are and contribute back to the communities that raised them. We must move beyond industries that make millions off of our pain and suffering by creating industries focused on art, community and innovation.
Policing and prisons will not stop gun violence. As we have seen this week, law enforcement agencies themselves contribute to violence and chaos in communities. We must change our approach to gun violence because this amount of death is not normal.
We must create a world without gun violence.
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