Our Goals
1. Gun control that does not result in targeted policing of black and brown bodies
- Enact legislation that restricts the access of assault rifles, or weaponry used in mass killings without thorough screenings and processes for mental and/or emotional, criminal, or social concerns. Additionally, enforcement of laws that restrict access to guns must not be racialized to favor any particular group.
- The priority policies we support are:
- Banning Assault Weapons & High Capacity Magazines / S. 2095 / H.R. 5087
- Expanding Background Checks to All Gun Sales / S. 2009 / H.R. 4052
- Passing Gun Violence Restraining Order Law / S. 1212/ H.R. 2598
- Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act / S.1856 / H.R. 1556
- The priority policies we oppose are:
- Conceal Carry Reciprocity HR 38 / S 446
- Any legislation that would aim to fortify our schools with more guns.
2. School safety solutions created by Students and SCS administration working together
- Strengthen our schools by having youth and adults identifying root causes of gun violence and creating solutions together to support each other in the implementation.
- Below are a list of solutions, we would like to work in collaboration with SCS Administrators to make happen:
- Comprehensive mental and emotional health services: We want all schools to provide a comprehensive program for mental health services so students can be proactively and consistently supported when dealing with emotional, mental, and social concerns.
- More guidance counselors and social workers: In order to address the violence affecting our schools, there needs to be a prioritization around hiring more guidance counselors and social workers, who have the training background specifically to support the emotional and mental state of students and to encourage the development of youth.
- Expansion of restorative justice practices: Restorative justice is the focusing on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large instead of punishing an individual for a specific crime they have committed. Restorative justice is key in building relationships between students, parents, teachers, school staff and community. It is an alternative to the presence of police and armed teachers that promotes emotional intelligence and communication which are essential skills to be honed for use after graduation. Our schools require an intentional, and systematic effort for restorative justice programs for peer-to-peer and peer-to-teacher/administrator mediation.
- Protection for students and families from ICE arrests around schools: Over-policing in our schools only serves to further criminalize young people of color at the expense of learning. Immigration raids across the city have occurred in and around our schools and in homes which instills a constant feeling of fear that impacts young people’s ability to participate in their education. That is why we know ICE and police are two sides of the same coin for our families. Both are detrimental to our dignity and our survival, and we need to end their reach into our lives now.
- Comprehensive mental and emotional health services: We want all schools to provide a comprehensive program for mental health services so students can be proactively and consistently supported when dealing with emotional, mental, and social concerns.