"In New York and nationally, summer holiday weekends have become tragically synonymous with increases in gun violence. Shootings across the five boroughs – including one that struck a five year old and another that killed a 15 year old – compound with mass shootings like we saw in Baltimore. Violence rates may be decreasing generally in New York City, but those trends mean nothing to people grieving tragedy.
"The expectation of gun violence cannot lead to its normalization. Instead, it must spur us to provide additional preventative resources, on these days and year round. The Fourth of July is taken as a day to recognize America – and we should recognize it as a call to address the uniquely American tragedy of gun violence."