Bending the Arc

The City of Milwaukee Office of Community Wellness and Safety has taken a public health approach to violence.

Each year, millions of individuals, families, and communities bear the physical, mental, and economic costs of violence. As a leading cause of injury, disability, and premature death, this issue compromises health and safety. Merely witnessing violent incidents can result in psychological disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Violence discourages economic development in troubled areas, thereby affecting the accessibility of jobs, healthy food, and safe housing. The physical wellbeing of residents, who stay indoors to avoid violent behavior in their community, can exacerbate health problems.

Fortunately, violence is a learned behavior and is preventable. Community-wide prevention is the most effective, long-term solution to violence. That is why the City of Milwaukee and numerous other sponsors, including the Sisters of St. Agnes, supported the 3rd annual Emergency Gun Violence Summit on October 15, 2025. The event was held at the Baird Center in Milwaukee. Special guests and speakers include Governor Tony Evers, Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Rob Wilcox, Deputy Director of the former White House Office of Gun Violence, Bishop James Schuerman of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, and many more.

A wide array of workshops were offered throughout the day, including ones geared specifically for youth in attendance, and a youth panel where students shared their heartbreaking experiences of gun violence in their young, personal lives. City, state, religious, educational and organizational leaders also provided reflective conversations for addressing gun violence and support services across the state.

Of the many shocking statistics presented by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, some of the most significant included:

• One person is killed every 12 hours, one person is shot every four hours in our state.
• The costs of gun violence in Wisconsin is $9 billion annually.
• 79% of deaths in Wisconsin are by guns.
• The overall gun death rate has increased 55% from 2014 to 2023.
• Wisconsin had the 5th highest gun homicide rate among Black people in the country in 2023.

Additionally, the CDC has documented that gun-related injuries are the leading cause of death for children and teens in our country, ages 1-19.

This should be a bipartisan health crisis, but it is not. There are clear discrepancies in support for common sense gun laws in our government, despite polls showing that on average 80% of voters want these. We must be relentless in calling for bipartisan support of common sense gun laws such as universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, extreme risk protection orders, safe storage laws, and waiting periods.

Learn more about Gun Violence Prevention at www.80percent4wi.org or call (833) LAT-INO1