The National Safer Communities Summit: A Wrap-Up
The National Safer Communities Summit: A Wrap-Up
Members of the GVPedia team share some thoughts on the GVP summit held in Hartford, CT last week.
By: Shannon Van Esley, with Eric Davidson
Last Friday, June 16, 2023, in West Hartford, Connecticut, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) convened an impressive number of activist groups, survivors, and politicians for the National Safer Communities Summit.
The event took place at the Hartt Theater on the campus of the University of Hartford. It consisted of individual speakers and panels discussing gun violence prevention, recent regional and national GVP legislation, and plans moving forward. It was all designed as a year anniversary celebration for the passing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
Proceedings started a little late, by about 9:30; a lunch break at 12:30; and speakers continued on until near 4. There was a large phalanx of cameras and reporters from local to national media on hand to cover the event.
GVPedia was represented by Study Research Team Supervisor, Shannon Van Esley, and Armed With Reason editor, Eric Davidson. Both were attending on an invitation from Brady United Against Gun Violence, with whom they also volunteer.
The Summit was full of informative and inspiring conversation, culminating in a rousing speech from President Joe Biden. Below is a quick recap of the day’s proceedings.
The packed house probably numbered about 400-plus attendees, including lots of folks from CT Against Gun Violence, Brady United Against Gun Violence, Moms Demand Action, and more – easily identifiable from the large groups all wearing matching t-shirts.
There were also many survivors and families of victims in the crowd, including Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, who appeared on one of the panels.
Governor Ned Lamont (D-CT) and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin (D) did an introduction detailing what's happening in their state concerning gun violence and the state’s increasingly impressive work against it. Senator Murphy then did a welcome speech that was very inspiring.
Nelba-Marquez Greene led a moment of silence with her husband and son who lost his sibling in Sandy Hook. It was beautiful and well done.
Nelba-Marquez Greene, center
Greg Jackson, from Community Justice Action Fund, then ran a very informative panel on how the BSCA funding has/will have a direct impact. He stressed how only a certain amount of funding would be in play for community violence intervention, and that ultimately there should be more allotted for it. Hockley stressed the need to directly support survivors.
Kris Brown from Brady introduced Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota, who offered the morning keynote. A panel followed, featuring Peter Ambler from Giffords, that covered all the work still to come. CEO and President of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Ruth Glenn, spoke passionately about gun violence in relation to domestic violence and intimate partner violence.
Quinton Lucas, Mayor of Kansas City, was also quite engaging in his comments. It will be interesting to see if he's a possible political rising star. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin was also on that panel. This was a bit more legislation-focused as opposed to the community-level intervention that was discussed in the previous panel.
The final talk featured Georgia Congresswoman Lucy McBath (D), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Senator Murphy who all discussed the federal landscape of legislation, while acknowledging (appropriately) their efforts and successes. Some time was also spent on the NRA lie of guns making people safer and the importance of countering that message.
U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, was then introduced by the Executive Director of Moms Demand Action, Angela Ferrell-Zabala. Cardona’s speech proved to be exceptionally emotional as he recounted his time spent with the Uvalde parents. It was moving and raw.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona
Senator Blumenthal then gave short remarks touching on his (and the general need for) longevity in arguing for strong legislation; and then introduced Gabby Giffords who gave a brief but highly inspirational delivery.
The hour lunch break added some needed leg-stretching and fuel for some of the most riveting speeches to come.
Four amazing youth survivors/activists – Sari Kaufman, Aalayah Eastmond, Lucy Sarkissian, and Tre Bosley – gave articulate and rousing remarks describing their first-hand experiences with gun violence and engagement with the movement.
Eastmond got the loudest and longest ovation of the day when she exclaimed, “Either help us change gun laws, or get out of our way!”
Aalayah Eastmond, at the podium
After a quick set-up from Senator Murphy, Biden then gave a great speech. He seemed focused and engaged, considering he’d soon have to jet off to another event that day.
Among other things, he touched on the Assault Weapons Ban, safe gun storage (a topic that arose frequently in the previous panels), and his own tragic, if not gun-related, loss of family members. His humble, relatable side came through, but he added a number of louder calls to action too. He also added some brevity with a few funny, self-effacing references to his age.
As applause erupted, Biden ended with his standard “…and may God bless our troops…” (which if memory serves he changed to “and may God bless gun violence survivors…”). As he started walking away from the podium to head into the crowd, his secret service crew apparently alerted him that they had to get going because there were storms coming in.
Biden apologized that he wouldn’t be able to go down into the crowd and had to leave, but then kind of threw up his hands and said he’s coming down anyway. He then flippantly made one of his usual dad jokes as he uttered, “Oh, God Save the Queen, let’s go!” and laughed, as he’d been standing there for a minute trying to get the decision from his staff.
It was all quick, funny, and ultimately galvanizing for the crowd, as he did go down and shake hands and take loads of selfies with attendees for about 20 minutes.
Despite a day filled with solid information, inspiration, and hope for the future, much of the post-Summit press coverage of course mainly focused on the “God Save the Queen” bit, which the vast majority of the audience barely noticed.
In general, considering the amount of experienced panelists and the often complicated discussion around gun violence prevention, all the speakers were clear and concise in their remarks, and things moved at a smooth and positive clip all day.
After seven hours, it was a lot of facts, stats, and stories to take in, but attendees left with smiles, handshakes, and hope on the way out to their cars.
You can watch the entire speaking portion of the event here and below.
Shannon Van Esley is the Study Research Team Supervisor at GVPedia, and is a NYC-based actor and activist. She is a longtime volunteer and former NYC Chapter Leader with Brady United Against Gun Violence. She has organized with New York Coalition to End Gun Violence, Concert Across America to End Gun Violence, and as an advocate with the New York City Gun-Violence Survivors Advisory Council.
Photos of Nelba-Marquez Greene, Miguel Cardona, and President Biden meeting crowd by Eric Davidson; youth activists and President Biden at podium by Shannon Van Esley.