FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
End Gun Violence Advocacy Day at the PA Capitol
Hundreds of survivors and advocates meet with legislators and rally to demand action
(Harrisburg, PA) — With Pennsylvania’s reduction in gun violence in the balance, hundreds gathered in Harrisburg today to push legislators to enact life-saving policies to ensure more lives are saved.
“Together, we’ve made Pennsylvania safer than it’s been in decades. Investments in violence prevention programs we’ve fought for made that happen,” said CeaseFirePA’s CEO Adam Garber. “But our work isn’t done until everyone is safe. We’ll return again and again to Harrisburg, return to our communities to share with our neighbors, talk to our patients and congregants, and continue to fight because we are the majority. And we will not rest until our elected officials pass life-saving policies that can prevent a firearm suicide, stop gun trafficking and ensure everyone can live free from gun violence.”
Throughout CeaseFirePA’s annual End Gun Violence Advocacy Day, survivors, clergy, health professionals, and Pennsylvanians held meetings with legislators demanding increased investments in evidence-based violence prevention programs, secure storage and other key solutions, including:
- Close the background check loophole, so that people who have committed violent crimes can’t purchase firearms
- Require background checks and serial numbers to rein in untraceable ghost guns that are often used in crimes
- Ban machine gun conversion devices that turn a regular handgun into a machine gun
Gun safety leaders in the General Assembly joined the End Gun Violence Advocacy Day on the front step of the Capitol.
“As Co-Chair of the PA Safe Caucus in the General Assembly, I have witnessed firsthand how important it is that we fund programs that address gun violence,” Rep. Anthony Bellmon said. “Programs such as the Violence Intervention and Prevention Program (VIP) and Building Opportunities for Out-of-School Time (BOOST) award state dollars to organizations across Pennsylvania working on the front lines daily to keep our communities safe from gun violence.”
According to a CeaseFirePA analysis of Gun Violence Archive data, gun homicides are down 46% statewide between 2022 and 2025. The main thing that shifted, according to researchers and advocates, is investment in violence prevention programs. CeaseFirePA is calling for the state budget to invest an additional $80 million in the PA Commission on Crime & Delinquency’s Violence Intervention Program (VIP) to sustain these efforts.
Clergy, congregations and lay leaders made a moral case throughout the day that all faiths hold life as sacred, stating:
“While the issue of gun violence is multi-layered and multifaceted, the morality is clear: we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Our faith dictates that the ancient voice of love is lifted in places and times where that moral mandate is ignored, forgotten, and buried under loveless actions,” said Rev. B De Neice Welch, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network and member of the statewide coalition With One Voice.
More and more health professionals have joined the call to end gun violence, naming it a public health crisis, leading with data and sharing their stories as practitioners.
“Firearm-related injuries are now the number one cause of death in children of all ages in the United States, with the majority of these tragic incidents occurring inside the home,” said Dr. Niti Jethava, a practicing pediatrician from Abington. “This is a public health crisis, and one that can be reversed with prevention interventions such as requiring secure storage of firearms.”
Survivors – those who have personally experienced gun violence – were among the advocates at the Capitol today. “I stand here today sharing my sons’ stories because they cannot be here to fight with us,” said Shalon Buskirk, who shared her story of her son Najeer being murdered with a Glock switch. “That is why Advocacy Day 2026 matters. Every single one of us showed up because gun violence touched our lives in a way we can never forget.”
After the rally, attendees marched into the Capitol determined to deliver a message to elected officials that they would keep fighting until everyone was safe from gun violence.
