Safer Communities
On Friday, June 16th, I attended the Safer Communities Summit at the University of Hartford, hosted by Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Besides the highlight of hearing President Biden deliver the keynote address, the summit covered a wide range of issues related to the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, federal legislation passed after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Among other things, the legislation provided funding for red flag laws, protections for victims of domestic violence, clarified the definition of “federally licensed firearms dealer”, and provided substantial federal funding for violence interruption.
Funding for violence interruption, a major focus during the morning session of the conference, has been a critical success for many government agencies and non-profit organizations, allowing for trauma-informed care in the communities directly affected by gun violence. Other elements of the act, especially federal protections for victims of domestic violence and red flag laws, allow municipalities in states hostile to common sense gun regulation to create meaningful paths to reducing the impact of gun violence in their communities.
Despite successful passage of assault weapons bans and safe storage requirements in many states across the country this year, the General Assembly in Rhode Island failed to act on these common sense (and constitutional) reforms that have been proven to reduce gun violence in our homes and communities. I often remind folks that sometimes we must lose forward – we must realize that our calling is to pay attention to the incremental victories, and that our work isn’t over just because we didn’t achieve all that we set out to do in a program year. Sometimes we are the widow who pleads their case over and over and over again, until the judge has no other option but to deliver justice.
The Rhode Island State Council of Churches is in it for the long haul – not only that, but we are also uniquely situated to become more deeply involved in providing pastoral care and trauma-informed support in the many communities we serve – more on that in the weeks and months to come. At the end of the summit, I left feeling inspired and energized for the work to come – I hope that you will join us as we continue to transform our state through kindness, empathy, and God’s enduring love.
