By Robert Jordan, Founder of Protecting Our Students.org
Empowering Our Advocacy: A New Tool to Map the Threat of Gun Violence. If you’re reading this, you share my commitment to making our schools and communities safer for our children. A critical part of that work is moving beyond the headlines to understand the whole, pervasive nature of gun violence in America. We need data, not just despair. We need tools that empower us with local, relevant facts to advocate effectively for our students.
That’s why I want to bring your attention to an incredible new resource I believe can transform our work: The newly updated Atlas of American Gun Violence from The Trace.
The Trace, a nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering gun violence, has just released the second version of its interactive data atlas. This isn’t just a database for journalists and policymakers; it’s a powerful instrument for every parent, educator, and community leader who needs to understand the specific threats facing their own neighborhoods.
Why This Tool is a Game-Changer for Us
For too long, our understanding of gun violence has been shaped by national tragedies that, while horrifying, can obscure the daily reality in our own backyards. This tool changes that. It allows us to:
- See the Local Picture: You can search by your city, county, or even your school’s congressional district. This moves the conversation from abstract national statistics to the very real context of your community.
- Filter for Relevance: The atlas lets you filter incidents by characteristics that matter most to the safety of our children, including:
- Child-Involved Incidents
- Accidental Shootings
- Drive-by Shootings
- Domestic Violence-related shootings
- Mass Shootings
- Officer-Involved incidents
- Track Trends Over Time: You can look at data from 2014 to the most recent quarter to see whether the situation in your area is improving or getting worse.
How We Can Use This in Our Advocacy
Knowledge is power, and this atlas puts that power directly in our hands. Here’s how we can use it to protect our students:
- Inform School Board and Community Meetings: Before your next local meeting, use the atlas to generate a report on gun violence in your school district. Instead of speaking in generalities, you can present a clear, data-driven map showing the incidents that have occurred near our schools. This provides an undeniable foundation for discussions on school safety measures, violence intervention programs, and community policing.
- Advocate for Evidence-Based Policies: When speaking with local and state representatives, you can use data specific to their district. For example, if the data shows a high number of accidental shootings involving children in your county, you have a powerful, localized argument for secure storage laws and public awareness campaigns.
- Create Data-Driven Awareness Campaigns: The atlas allows you to download data and embed interactive maps. This means we can share compelling, visual evidence on our own websites and social media channels to raise awareness and mobilize our community around specific issues.
A Call to Action: Arm Yourselves with Information
At ProtectingOurStudents.org, our mission is to turn concern into action. This tool is a vital step in that direction. I urge every one of you to explore the Atlas of American Gun Violence for yourselves.
Spend some time entering your community’s information. See what the data reveals. I believe you will find it as enlightening as I have.
Let’s use this resource to ensure our advocacy is rooted in the unassailable truth of data. Let’s speak with the authority that comes from truly knowing the landscape of violence we are fighting to change. Our students are counting on us to be as informed and strategic as possible.
Together, armed with knowledge, we can build a safer future.
