Our communities can step up now to stop the leading cause of death among our children. The tragedies at Oxford, Michigan State University, and countless other shootings could have and should have been prevented. Legislative action is helpful and needed, but it is only one small part of the solution. There are things we can do as friends, neighbors, parents, employers, law enforcement, and community members – by using our own power, harnessing early prevention programs, educating ourselves about how to identify someone who is in crisis, and what to do once they are identified.

In the wake of the Oxford High School shooting, and after watching the Uvalde, Texas shooting unfold, Prosecutor Karen McDonald knew she could no longer wait for someone else to move the needle on gun violence, and she established the Commission to Address Gun Violence. The Commission consists of a multi-disciplinary group of experts from across the country to identify evidence-based, actionable, community-based solutions.

The Commission to Address Gun Violence is focused on 5 key areas:

1. What we can do long before a person is in crisis;
2. Identifying when a person is in crisis;
3. Addressing who to notify and what to do when someone is in crisis;
4. Preparing for a shooting scenario; and
5. What to do in the aftermath of a shooting.

Commission members will be listed in the report, which is expected to be issued in June of 2024.

We define gun violence as a public health crisis. Gun violence has become the leading cause of death among children across the country. As such, we should be treating gun violence like we do with other public health issues - harnessing a data-based public health campaign to inform the general public and communities on how and what they can do.

• The public is not well-informed about gun violence. Citizens don’t know what to look out for or how to report concerns. The Federal Government and the Centers for Disease Control used to treat gun violence as a public health crisis, but due to the passage of the Dickey Amendment and pressure from the NRA, the CDC was kept from using federal funds to study the issue.
• It’s time we treat gun violence like other public health issues. We teach our kids not to play with matches and to stop, drop, and roll, but we don’t teach them anything about guns. We need to keep ourselves safe in a country where there are, and will always be lots of guns.

Mass shootings, and school shootings in particular, receive the most media attention, but the majority of gun violence cases are not targeted attacks.

• Mass shootings are only the tip of the gun violence iceberg. For every person killed in a mass shooting in 2020, another 85 died from other forms of gun violence.​
• Since 2020, gun violence has been the leading cause of death among children and teens. What most people don’t know is that most gun deaths in children and teens are due to suicide.
• Nationally and in Michigan, nearly 60% of adult gun deaths can be attributed to suicide.

There’s not one unique thing that will prevent gun violence, but we know it starts with educating ourselves about the factors that contribute to gun violence and the steps we can take to address them. We know that early prevention programs can address the root causes of gun violence, and before an instance of violence ever takes place. We believe that our community has both the power and the responsibility to stop gun violence. That starts with educating ourselves. That’s what All of Us will do.

Our key initiatives include:

• Public education: This is our number one focus and it includes working with schools and businesses to create programs that prepare teachers, students, parents, co-workers, and others about the signs they should look out for from a student or community member who is in crisis, and how to handle it. It also includes publicizing resources where those under duress can seek help.
• Legal: In Oxford, the parents of the shooter were negligent ahead of the shooting, purchasing the gun he used as a gift only a few days before the crime. While Prosecutor McDonald held them legally responsible for what happened, she knows we’re not going to prosecute our way out of the gun violence problem. Parents and others who fail to practice responsible gun ownership should be held accountable for their inaction or unwillingness to respond to the warning signs. But there’s more we can do than prosecute parents after a crime and that’s the work we’re doing at All of Us. 
• Training: This includes training programs in the workplace or other spaces for community members to act when a person feels distressed or vulnerable to violent or impulsive decisions - coaching them on who to tell and how to do a threat assessment. Today, people ask questions on what motivated a shooter after the fact, when it’s already far too late. We don’t have to wait for another shooting to happen in order to do something about it.

We want to stop gun violence from happening in the first place, not just practice for an active shooter situation.

• The purpose of these programs is to educate ourselves about how to identify individuals who are in crisis and may be at risk to commit violence.
• When we spot someone showing concerning signs, we don’t always know who to notify or how to respond. We need to expand our reporting systems and publicize them so the public has a centralized place to report concerns.
• Many programs that already exist are there to train people for what to do when an active shooting is taking place. By engaging early, it helps prevent the shooting from taking place to begin with.

Yes, additional forms of gun violence prevention legislation are needed, but others are focused on that.

• We can’t wait any longer for the right person or politician to come in and finally pass the “perfect” package of gun violence prevention legislation.
• We are the people we’ve been waiting for - to combat this problem.
• And while we’ll remain vigilant and do all we can to prevent gun violence, legislatively, this program gives citizens and community leaders the information they need to take action at the local level - encouraging local officials, law enforcement, employers, and citizens to take proactive steps to prevent tragedies now.
• By educating the public on where those under distress can get assistance, or how to detect and manage a problematic situation, we can make a real difference.

Yes, mental health services are important. Our focus is on All of Us - employers, teachers and parents to learn how to spot someone in crisis, and what to do when we identify someone who is. When we identify someone who needs help, it is up to All of Us to make sure that person gets the help they need.

Stopping gun violence requires the collective effort of everyone to solve this crisis. We can take action now by engaging citizens in public education and prevention programs. That includes introducing early intervention programs in schools and business to address early signs of trouble and to give people the support they need when they’re in a crisis. Too often, action is taken after a tragedy - whereas, our solutions take on the problem before any bullets are even fired and lives are lost.

We hope that lawmakers take action to pass laws that will end gun violence, though this is a problem that cannot be solved by legislation alone. We can take action now by encouraging personal responsibility, encouraging citizens to be aware of the conduct of those around them, and connecting those under duress with the resources they need to get help. We need to protect people, especially our children.

Michiganders have 2nd Amendment rights, and the government cannot infringe upon those liberties. We are providing citizens with the concrete resources and education they need to take action early and to identify and deal with the signs of trouble. These practices exhort citizens, whether they own a gun or not, to exercise personal responsibility for the people around them. What we need is to educate each other on how to prevent or stop violence in its tracks.

All of Us receives funding from individuals and foundations that will be publicly reported. It is building upon recommendations from experts and community leaders from across the state and country who volunteered their time to collaborate and formulate these recommendations. We hope that the All of Us program will form the basis for a broader public education program with supportive tools that will receive further resources from the state and/or federal government.