By Spencer Overton, The Nation
While gun-violence is a serious issue in low-income communities of color, with African American men being 20 times more likely to be victims of gun homicide than white men, the problem “stems not just from petty grievances among impulsive youth of color, but from larger structural issues such as credibility of law enforcement, easy access to guns, and a lack of job skills and opportunities.” After asking members of the community how they would solve issues of gun-violence, this report found that gun-violence and police-violence are interconnected. Over 90% of African Americans and Latinos interviewed supported “strengthening police accountability through civil review boards, body-worn cameras, and racial bias assessment and training of the police.” At the same time, more than 86% of those interviewed supported actions to limit access to guns, such as “universal background checks, mandatory reporting for lost and stolen firearms, and increased oversight of licensed firearm dealers.”
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