Gun Violence Prevention Advisory Committee

I approached the Johnson County Board of Supervisors about the formation of a Gun Violence Prevention Advisory Committee.  As a gun violence prevention advocate, I submitted a question at the recent Board of Supervisor candidate forums that included “Could the county benefit from a gun violence prevention advisory committee?” 

After the peace vigil, Supervisor V. Fixmer-Oraiz and I chatted about what might come next.  I mentioned that the formation of a GVP Advisory Committee seemed to be well received at the forum.  We then approached Supervisor Jon Green about potentially adding this for discussion.

Gun violence prevention efforts don’t stop when there is a shooting.  In fact, that’s when communities come together to make progress.  My suggestion was not in direct response to the Ped Mall shooting, but I saw it was an opportunity to discuss further.

The suggestion to form a GVP Advisory Committee was in no way intended to be a criticism of the Community Violence Intervention program.  While gun violence intervention and gun violence prevention may have some overlap, they are not the same thing.  

In Iowa, 79 percent of our gun deaths are from gun suicide.  The majority of suicides in Iowa, including children and teens, are gun suicides.  We cannot talk about gun violence prevention in Iowa without talking about preventing gun suicide.  We cannot talk about suicide prevention in Iowa without talking about preventing easy access to firearms.  This is where the Be SMART for Kids program can help create a culture of responsible gun ownership.  I think there is opportunity to do more.  

I will continue to show up and work toward a community free from gun violence and I will advocate that we include all community stakeholders doing the same.

Temple Hiatt

Lead for the Iowa chapter of Be SMART

Johnson County lead of Moms Demand Action