National Gun Survivors Week (NGSW) February 1-February 7, 2021
What is National Gun Survivors Week?
The first-ever National Gun Survivors Week was launched in February 2019. There was a clear need to have survivors and those impacted by an act of gun violence come together to support one another and let the stories of survival be told. Everyone’s need to get together has never before been more significant, considering gun sales are on the rise due to the pandemic and a spike in gun-related deaths. The first week in February is the start of NGSW because more Americans are killed with guns by early February than those in our peer countries in an entire calendar year.
Why is National Gun Survivors Week important?
58% of American adults have survived a gun violence incident, either experiencing it firsthand or caring for someone who experienced an incident. This epidemic is not slowing down anytime soon; quite the opposite, it’s getting worse. Experiencing some form of gun violence can leave lifelong negative consequences. As a community, we must let the survivors know that we are here for them. We are here to listen to their survival stories and encourage, motivate and lend a helping hand. The healing doesn’t stop when the physical wounds heal. There are wounds deep down that can hurt more than the physical injuries themselves. Aftermath consequences can pop up as Post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor’s guilt, financial disturbances, and medical and emotional issues.
How can you help?
- Visit the Moments That Survive website (https://momentsthatsurvive.org/). Here you can read firsthand what it’s like to survive a gun violence incident from those who have lived it.
- Educate yourself on gun legislation, research, and policies. You have a voice. Use it! https://everytownresearch.org/ has an abundance of information in regards to everything gun violence-related.
- Volunteer! The Moms Demand Action is a movement led by volunteers fighting for public safety measures. Becoming a volunteer is easy, and the need for help is constant (https://momsdemandaction.org/act/).
Important terms to know:
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD: A condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others and the outside world.
- Survivor’s Guilt: A condition of persistent mental and emotional stress experienced by someone who has survived an incident in which others died.
- Gun Control: The regulation of the sale and use of firearms.
- National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/nics:Database used by licensed dealers during the sale of a firearm, which contains information to determine if a buyer is eligible to purchase a gun.
- Open Carry: The practice of openly carrying a firearm on one’s person in public.
- Conceal Carry: The practice of carrying a concealed firearm on one’s person in public.
- Survivor: A person who survives, especially a person remaining alive after an event in which others have died.
- Second Amendment https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-2/: Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects the right to keep and bear arms.
