Gun Violence Prevention Summit: Choose Peace…Gun Violence Must Cease 

August 22, 2023

I served as the League Women Voters of Alachua County (LWVAC) representative at the City of Gainesville’s recent Gun Violence Prevention Summit. The summit was titled, “Choose Peace: Gun Violence Must Cease.” This two-day event was held at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center on Sunday, August 6, 2023 (Community Day), and Monday, August 7, 2023 (Policy Day). This event was part of an ongoing effort to confront the rise in gun violence in our community. The Alachua County League of Women Voters is listed in the Post Event Report as one of the organizations present for both days.

In 2023, the Gainesville City Commission declared gun violence as a public health crisis and decided to possibly create a task force pending discussion with the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners. With the declaration of gun violence as a health crisis, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Social Ecological Model was introduced to tackle this issue during the summit. This model emphasizes the need to utilize public health concepts to identify and implement solutions to this challenging issue. Public health promotes and protects the health of all people and their communities and includes individual and system-level approaches. The primary focus of the meeting was to bring attention to the complex issue of gun violence in the Gainesville community. This summit is intended to seek solutions to this issue by bringing the community to the table to understand how they view this issue and what they see as potential solutions, collaborate with established organizations and partners, and involve the community in policymaking. This summit was meant to be a significant movement in the right direction by enhancing communication strategies, improving how resources are leveraged, and pushing toward centralized data collection to create a clearinghouse of information and resources.

Approximately 409 individuals registered for this event. The final report shows that 360 people attended, 250 on day one and 110 on day two. This number included 75 young people, considered the primary focus of the summit.

The consensus is that we cannot keep waking up to gun violence headlines without taking some action to work toward prevention. This cannot just be accepted as the “new norm.” It is understood that having this summit is not the total answer; it is a good start. There are no quick fixes, but we are all puzzle pieces. According to the materials, gun violence disproportionately and overwhelmingly affects communities of color.

Statistics show that gun violence is a consistent problem for our community. From 2018-2022, there were 544 reported shootings in Gainesville. From July 2021 to July 2022, there were 131 shooting deaths, including homicides; from July 2022-2023, there were 154. We have a role to play as individuals, as organizations, and as policymakers. It is time for “boots on the ground” activism. We have to look beneath the surface to the actual root of the problem. Research and providing resources and support will have a significant impact as we tackle this issue.

Community Day 

This day included breakout workshop sessions on violence intervention, social well-being and the risk for violence, social media and mental health, youth and hip-hop culture, and a Youth Town Hall session.

Policy Day 

This day consisted of discussions focused on governance and practices. Representatives
included elected officials, educators, school administrators, business and civic leaders, and representatives from public health, local government, public safety, and the judicial system. Through the use of the CDC Social-Ecological Model, attendees went into sector breakout sessions as follows: Public Health, Healthcare, and Social Services; Elected Officials and Local Government; Public Safety and Judicial System Stakeholders, Educators, and School Administrators; and Business and Civic Community Members.

Key Takeaways from Summit

A detailed post-event report has been published and is available on the City of Gainesville website.

1. This event brought together many leaders and stakeholders from areas of the community and government to engage in focused discussions. This allowed time for strategizing new ways to centralize community efforts to end gun violence, including developing action items related to public safety, support services, and policymaking.
2. The summit provided a resource fair, supplemental information and materials, and a list of services and programs for children and families.
3. The summit included a youth town hall with young voices providing insight into gun violence in popular culture.
4. This event served as a call to action for the community and local leaders to serve as a launching pad for developing a partnership anchored by a central clearinghouse, convener, and collaborator to share data on gun violence. 

The summit closed with a recommendation to review the event at the next joint Gainesville City Commission and Alachua County Commission meeting, which is set for August 28, 2023, and to reconvene in January 2024 to examine collected data and share information.

League of Women Voters of Florida also Supports Gun Safety/Reform

The League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) also supports gun violence prevention initiatives and encourages regional League actions to support local efforts toward gun violence prevention in Florida. 

Calls to Action for LWVAC

1. Develop a press release, proclamation, and/or statement supporting gun reform, sense, and safety in keeping with the LWVFL efforts to reduce gun violence in Florida. Present proclamation at City/County commission meetings. The Press Release is available here.
2. Ensure a representative is present at the joint City/County meeting on August 28, 2023, and maintain a presence at all related events as possible.
3. Advertise gun violence prevention events and initiatives on league social media.
4. Advocate for making gun violence prevention/gun/safety/ a legislative priority.
5. Review and support local policy initiatives of the City and County governments that align with the league’s position on this topic.

NOTE: Information in this document was taken from the post-event report by the City of Gainesville and the League of Women Voters of Florida website.