CeaseFirePA Education Fund today released a new video as part of its Deadly by Design: Facing the Truth About Gun Violence in PA storytelling project.
Pittsburgh– Jerame was playing with friends just two blocks from the Wolvarena, in Turtle Creek, in the Eastern Suburbs of Pittsburgh, when a gun that a 13-year-old friend took from his home, which was not stored securely, went off. Jerame died from his injuries.
Guns are the number one killer of our youth (aged 1- 19) in the USA. Because Pennsylvania has no secure storage laws, it is too easy for children to find unlocked and loaded guns, which allow tragic deaths like Jerame’s to happen.
Storing guns locked, unloaded, separate from ammunition, without a key nearby reduces accidental shootings. 26 states already have Secure Storage or Child Access Prevention laws. Across the United States, 6.7 million children still live in homes with at least one gun that is loaded and unlocked. Every unsecured gun is another tragedy like Jerame’s waiting to happen.
Adam Garber, CEO of CeaseFirePA Education Fund, said:
“Jerame’s story is far too common, and another reminder that behind the headlines are real people who will have holes in their hearts for the rest of their lives, all because some lawmakers listen to the gun lobby and ignore the pleas of parents like Cathy.
“By sharing Jerame’s story with Pennsylvania legislators, we can pass Secure Storage Legislation and save the lives that are going to be lost next summer if we do nothing, said Garber. “A secure storage Bill passed out of the Judiciary Committee with our support last session, but some of our elected leaders choose not to let life-saving legislation like this pass, because they fear the political consequences, and our system continues to be Deadly by Design.
“This is about facing the truth: our system is designed to accept that tragedies like Jerame’s tragic death are OK. Cathy has stood up and said enough. She has joined our movement to end gun violence in Pennsylvania like thousands of others we are fighting for a state that feels safer because every gun is securely stored.
But we have the power and soon, we hope, the opportunity to change that system and save lives.”
Cathy Welsh, Jerame Turner’s mother, commented,
“My message to our Pennsylvania legislators, whom I absolutely adore and respect. Let’s lead the charge in safe storage. His [Jerame’s] life had so much purpose while he was alive and just as much purpose, if not more, with him being gone.”
The video is part of CeaseFirePA Education Fund’s ongoing Deadly by Design project, which features Pennsylvania gun violence survivors telling their own stories to educate Pennsylvanians and policymakers about how policy failures directly enable gun violence.
Watch Jerame’s story and explore the full collection at: www.DeadlyByDesign.org
