National Network to End Domestic Violence Statement on Michigan State Mass Shooting

February 15, 2023

A statement from Deborah J. Vagins, President & CEO, National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV):

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) grieves with the Michigan State University community and the people of East Lansing following a mass shooting there on Monday. Our hearts break for the students, staff, faculty, and their family members, who have been physically and emotionally wounded—and we send our condolences to the families of those who were killed.

According to CNN, so far in 2023—barely a month and a half into the new year—there have been 67 mass shootings in the United States. This week also marks the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where seventeen people were murdered. Despite ongoing advocacy following mass shooting after mass shooting, there is no place in our country that is safe from the onslaught of gun violence—whether it’s a school, dance studio, a nightclub, an elementary school, or a supermarket. Every day, more than 120 people in the United States are killed by people with guns, and more than 200 are shot and wounded.

Although one of the first gun safety measures in decades was enacted last year, it is not enough. Gun violence, and those who choose to perpetrate it, are destroying our families, our communities, and our country. These tragedies are preventable and we demand change. Congress has the power to help stop this carnage, and we urge them to take meaningful action on common-sense gun legislation, including banning assault weapons and enacting the bipartisan Strengthening Protections for Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2023, recently introduced by Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

NNEDV has been proud to support legislation to ensure people intent on causing harm cannot access firearms. We are committed to working with our membership of the 56 state and U.S. territorial coalitions against domestic violence and other anti-violence organizations to advance common-sense gun laws to make our nation safer for all of us.

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The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) represents the 56 state and U.S. territorial coalitions against domestic violence. NNEDV is a social change organization with a mission to create a social, political, and economic environment in which domestic violence no longer exists. NNEDV works to make domestic violence a national priority, change the way society responds to domestic violence, and strengthen domestic violence advocacy at every level.