In 2018, Fight For Our Lives was formed in direct response to the Parkland School Shooting that ignited a movement of young people across the world fighting for safer communities.
Here in Albuquerque, our communities have been plagued by gun violence for decades. Now that gun violence has crept its way into the affluent neighborhoods of White America, and gun reform has taken the national spotlight, it is imperative that we center the voices of the communities of color that have been in this fight for years.
OUR MESSAGE:
We want to be safe. In New Mexico, neither school administrations nor state government adequately address students’ safety concerns. It is far too easy to purchase, modify, and conceal firearms. There is a lack of effective regulation to monitor and track guns that have already been sold; there is no regulation concerning the private sale of firearms, whether at gun shows or other venues. Something needs to be done to address student safety in New Mexico. The students who walk the halls of our educational institutions and sit through the active shooter drills need to be involved in creating the solution . We are students from a variety of different cultural backgrounds and viewpoints across the political spectrum, but we can all agree that to us, safety in schools does not look like armed teachers, metal detectors, zero tolerance policies, or schools that closely resemble prisons.
We don’t want students to be criminalized - In New Mexico’s largest school district of over 84,000 students, Native American and Hispanic students make up more than 70% of the entire student population - we know schools in low-income communities and that have high numbers of youth of color would be most impacted by over policing and excessive force.
Our beautiful State is home to over 6,000 DACA recipients, we believe these students and their families should not have to live in fear of encountering police and/or ICE agents while simply trying to attend class, fears like these disrupt the learning environment and take away from students education.
Safety to us looks like prevention, intervention, and support services that arm our teachers with therapists and counselors who are trained in de-escalation, behavior health, and crisis intervention.
There have been over 900 mass shootings that left four or more dead in the United States since 2013, this pattern needs to end here. In addition to mass shootings and incidents in schools, we also recognize that gun violence spills over into life outside of school, affecting students of color and other minorities disproportionately through suicides and street violence.
In New Mexico, our gun-related-death-rate is 40% higher than the national average, however, the majority of gun deaths are actually suicides, with 62% of gun fatalities in America occurring as suicides, suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people in New Mexico. Street violence is also a major issue in New Mexico, in 2016 - gun violence accounted for over 400 deaths in the state, 85 of which were children.
As students of New Mexico, we are calling upon our Governor - Susana Martinez to protect New Mexican children. We demand that Governor Martinez call for an Emergency Legislative Session to address gun laws in New Mexico, as well as she meets with youth leaders and include them in the change-making process.
We have had two school shootings since 2014 in the state, and we have yet to see change that protects students in school without further criminalizing them. It is time to amplify youth voices to place significant gun reform into action, as well as implementing restorative justice, prevention, intervention, and support services in our schools.
Our event on March 24th in solidarity with other major cities across the United States - has focused on bringing thousands of New Mexicans together from across the political spectrum as one unified voice to say one thing: Our kids deserve to be safe.
However, our work does not end on March 24th, with a 60-day legislative session nearly a year away our campaign will continue to advocate for school safety, common sense gun laws and a learning environment that is supportive of all students. Another focus of our campaign will include both civic engagement among high-schoolers, and voter registration.
Politicians in NM from both sides of the aisle have accepted money from the NRA, but between now and November 6th, 2018 - the day we elect a new Governor and five new congressional leaders, thousands of young New Mexicans will be granted the right to vote - together alongside the survivors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and youth from across the nation we will vote out any politicians that continue to value NRA dollars over America's future leaders.
As the youth of New Mexico, we are stepping up at a time when the adults in power seem to be failing us, and as the future leaders of our state we suggest our leaders stop disregarding our voices and quite playing politics with our lives.
Here in Albuquerque, our communities have been plagued by gun violence for decades. Now that gun violence has crept its way into the affluent neighborhoods of White America, and gun reform has taken the national spotlight, it is imperative that we center the voices of the communities of color that have been in this fight for years.
OUR MESSAGE:
We want to be safe. In New Mexico, neither school administrations nor state government adequately address students’ safety concerns. It is far too easy to purchase, modify, and conceal firearms. There is a lack of effective regulation to monitor and track guns that have already been sold; there is no regulation concerning the private sale of firearms, whether at gun shows or other venues. Something needs to be done to address student safety in New Mexico. The students who walk the halls of our educational institutions and sit through the active shooter drills need to be involved in creating the solution . We are students from a variety of different cultural backgrounds and viewpoints across the political spectrum, but we can all agree that to us, safety in schools does not look like armed teachers, metal detectors, zero tolerance policies, or schools that closely resemble prisons.
We don’t want students to be criminalized - In New Mexico’s largest school district of over 84,000 students, Native American and Hispanic students make up more than 70% of the entire student population - we know schools in low-income communities and that have high numbers of youth of color would be most impacted by over policing and excessive force.
Our beautiful State is home to over 6,000 DACA recipients, we believe these students and their families should not have to live in fear of encountering police and/or ICE agents while simply trying to attend class, fears like these disrupt the learning environment and take away from students education.
Safety to us looks like prevention, intervention, and support services that arm our teachers with therapists and counselors who are trained in de-escalation, behavior health, and crisis intervention.
There have been over 900 mass shootings that left four or more dead in the United States since 2013, this pattern needs to end here. In addition to mass shootings and incidents in schools, we also recognize that gun violence spills over into life outside of school, affecting students of color and other minorities disproportionately through suicides and street violence.
In New Mexico, our gun-related-death-rate is 40% higher than the national average, however, the majority of gun deaths are actually suicides, with 62% of gun fatalities in America occurring as suicides, suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people in New Mexico. Street violence is also a major issue in New Mexico, in 2016 - gun violence accounted for over 400 deaths in the state, 85 of which were children.
As students of New Mexico, we are calling upon our Governor - Susana Martinez to protect New Mexican children. We demand that Governor Martinez call for an Emergency Legislative Session to address gun laws in New Mexico, as well as she meets with youth leaders and include them in the change-making process.
We have had two school shootings since 2014 in the state, and we have yet to see change that protects students in school without further criminalizing them. It is time to amplify youth voices to place significant gun reform into action, as well as implementing restorative justice, prevention, intervention, and support services in our schools.
Our event on March 24th in solidarity with other major cities across the United States - has focused on bringing thousands of New Mexicans together from across the political spectrum as one unified voice to say one thing: Our kids deserve to be safe.
However, our work does not end on March 24th, with a 60-day legislative session nearly a year away our campaign will continue to advocate for school safety, common sense gun laws and a learning environment that is supportive of all students. Another focus of our campaign will include both civic engagement among high-schoolers, and voter registration.
Politicians in NM from both sides of the aisle have accepted money from the NRA, but between now and November 6th, 2018 - the day we elect a new Governor and five new congressional leaders, thousands of young New Mexicans will be granted the right to vote - together alongside the survivors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and youth from across the nation we will vote out any politicians that continue to value NRA dollars over America's future leaders.
As the youth of New Mexico, we are stepping up at a time when the adults in power seem to be failing us, and as the future leaders of our state we suggest our leaders stop disregarding our voices and quite playing politics with our lives.
Gun Violence Prevention Actions / Events:
The Outcome:
After several months organizing direct action and legislative campaigns to support common-sense gun reform legislation, the New Mexico State legislature passed Universal Background Checks, Red-Flag-Gun-Laws, and Extreme-Risk-Protection Orders during the 2019 General Session. In addition to legislative change, we've worked alongside high-profile New Mexican politicians to craft student-led solutions like more youth employment programs to keep students engaged in their community and out of trouble.
After several months organizing direct action and legislative campaigns to support common-sense gun reform legislation, the New Mexico State legislature passed Universal Background Checks, Red-Flag-Gun-Laws, and Extreme-Risk-Protection Orders during the 2019 General Session. In addition to legislative change, we've worked alongside high-profile New Mexican politicians to craft student-led solutions like more youth employment programs to keep students engaged in their community and out of trouble.