"This year, Gun Violence Awareness Month begins as this uniquely American epidemic is dominant in our headlines and our hearts, in the wake of several mass shootings in the last weeks. At the same time, that violence and the devastation it delivers is not confined to these high profile attacks. Over Memorial Day weekend, nearly as many people were shot in our city alone as had their lives stolen in Buffalo and Uvalde. We are aware of gun violence, we are hurting, we are grieving, and across the country, we are in desperate need of solutions.
"While we push for change on a federal level, against the NRA and its active and implicated allies, we can enact change in New York City and State today. Funding gun violence prevention, especially at its root causes, is essential in the last days of the state legislative session and in the coming city budget, and the state must strengthen existing programs such as red flag laws while also passing new legislation including microstamping.
"There are no excuses, and no time to delay. It’s time to move from awareness to action."