Friday And Saturday: More Than 1,200 Survivors Of Gun Violence, Members Of Congress, Virtually Gather For National Summit

Special Guests Include Gun Violence Survivors U.S. Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Lucy McBath (D-GA), and Salud Carbajal (D-CA)

NEW YORK — Starting today, the Everytown Survivor Network, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, will host the first National Gun Violence Survivor Summit: Building Survivor CommUNITY. More than 1,200 gun violence survivors from 47 states and Washington, D.C. have registered to attend the two-day virtual summit. The event will explore what it means to be a survivor of gun violence, trauma and resilience-building, sharing of resources and information to support survivors on their journey of healing and advocacy, and more. The entire summit will also be translated live in Spanish.

“Survivors of gun violence have lived through something that no one should be forced to experience. We hope this summit serves as a place of community for all those impacted by gun violence to share their experiences and learn from each other,” said Keenon James, Senior Director of the Everytown Survivor Network. “Every story is more than a single statistic and we are grateful that so many survivors will be joining us so that together, we can heal, build resilience and find the collective power of our voices.”

Four members of Congress will be joining to speak about their personal experiences with gun violence:

• Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) will provide a keynote address;
• Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) will be interviewed by Celeste Kanpurwala, a member of the Everytown Survivor Network and Moms Demand Action volunteer whose father died by suicide with his shotgun on April 9, 2014, one day after her birthday;
• Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) will be interviewed by Valerie Burgest, a member of the Everytown Survivor Network and Moms Demand Action volunteer whose son Craig Williams was shot and killed when he stopped at a store to buy gum on December 28, 2013; and
• Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) will be interviewed by Richard Martinez, a program associate for Everytown for Gun Safety whose 20-year-old son, Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, was one of six people killed in the Isla Vista shooting on May 23, 2014.

Additionally, Kristina Rose, Director of the Office for Victims of Crime at the Department of Justice, will provide a special message. National leaders from the Equality Federation, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Kentucky Dream Alliance will also join.