Re: “Seattle, King County, community leaders launch plan to combat gun violence” [July 10, Local News]:
We were delighted to hear King County Executive Dow Constantine call for “long-term change” to confront our community’s crisis of firearm violence.
By age 18 the average American has witnessed an average of 200,000 violent acts on TV alone — many involving firearms. Our kids get their information on firearms from video games, movies and social media. They receive no formal education about this health issue, though firearm violence is the number one cause of death in their age group. If we’re to seriously address firearm violence in our communities, we need to balance these impressions with the facts.
Over the past seven years our group has reached over 7,000 Washington state high school students with a public health-based presentation, endorsed by Edmonds and Tacoma school superintendents and health educators, that presents the scientific data on firearm violence, teaches students to identify high-risk situations, empowers them to use resources to prevent firearm injury and brings them up to date on laws that can help to save lives.
Education can help bring about the lasting changes we need. Contact us to find out how you can bring our program to schools in your community at washingtonceasefire.org, under “Programs.”
Gregory Engel, M.D., MPH, Seattle, director, Firearm Injury Prevention Educators and board member, Washington Ceasefire