By King County Executive Dow Constantine and Dr. Faisal Khan, Director of Public Health — Seattle & King County
With a gunshot on June 6, a Garfield High School student’s life ended. That same week, two more young lives were taken by gunfire, one in Kent and one in Renton. Since then, we have lost more young lives to senseless acts of gun violence. Each of these deaths is a horrific, unthinkable tragedy, on the heels of so many other tragedies of gun violence across the country.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S., surpassing car crashes, cancer and drug overdoses. And the impact is deeply disproportionate for Black boys and young men. In King County, over half of gun violence victims in 2023 were Black men and boys, despite the fact that Black residents make up only 7.2% of the county population.
In June, the U.S. surgeon general declared gun violence a national public health crisis. Dr. Vivek Murthy called attention to our country’s demonstrably ineffective approach to gun violence, under which we have leaned almost exclusively on law enforcement and incarceration and done little about root causes. Policing is important, but it doesn’t add up to a solution.
Combating gun violence as the public health crisis that it is means relying on the same strategies we used to successfully tackle some of the biggest threats to our health — to dramatically reduce tobacco use and increase seat belt use, and to promote the lifesaving impact of vaccines.
We have already started this work here in our region. King County declared gun violence a public health crisis in 2021 and we have been building a community-based response from the ground up.
King County is investing in organizations that are working in the community and in hospitals — reaching people at vulnerable moments and preventing outbreaks of gunfire before more people are injured or killed.
The Regional Peacekeepers Collective is an important example, where local, Black-led organizations provide intervention, prevention and restoration services. This includes incident and hospital-based response and resources for families impacted by gun violence.
The surgeon general called for interventions just like these. A growing body of evidence shows that gun violence can be reduced when we invest in holistic public safety approaches and involve impacted communities in meaningful ways.
While we have made progress, our work continues. Last year, we created the Regional Office of Gun Violence Prevention as a hub for coordination and collaboration.
We are expanding Regional Peacekeeper services to more areas in south King County. And our office is working closely with cities, counties and the White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention to learn from each other and bring new solutions to King County.
This summer, we took another important step: 100 Days of Action against gun violence. Through our 100-day intensive initiative, we are investing in services for victims and families impacted by gun violence, increasing the distribution of free gun lockboxes, raising public awareness, and working with community to expand violence intervention programs — to help pave the way for lasting change.
It will take moral and political courage, substantial investments, and a comprehensive approach, but together, we can turn back the rising tide of gun violence and save lives.
More resources:
- Public Health’s Community-Based Resource Guide for people impacted by gun violence
- Data on the impact of firearms in King County: kingcounty.gov/firearms
Originally published on August 16, 2024.