{"id":7836,"date":"2025-03-14T18:30:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T23:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=7836"},"modified":"2025-03-14T18:34:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T23:34:59","slug":"missouri-deserves-better-senator-schmitts-weak-gun-violence-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/missouri-deserves-better-senator-schmitts-weak-gun-violence-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Deserves Better: Senator Schmitt\u2019s Weak Gun Violence Response"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gun violence is a pressing issue in Missouri and across the country, yet when we reached out to Senator Eric Schmitt<\/strong> to ask about solutions<\/strong>, his response offered no concrete policy commitments<\/strong>\u2014just the same political deflection we\u2019ve heard time and time again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schmitt\u2019s response focused on mental health, substance abuse, and crime prosecution<\/strong>, but completely ignored evidence-based gun violence prevention measures<\/strong> like background checks, red flag laws, and community-based intervention programs<\/strong>. While mental health resources and community engagement are important, they alone do not address the root causes of gun violence<\/strong>\u2014namely, easy access to firearms<\/a>, weak gun laws<\/a>, and a lack of proactive prevention policies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Message-from-the-Office-of-U.S.-Senator-Eric-S.-Schmitt<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udccc Breaking Down Schmitt\u2019s Response<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his letter, Schmitt acknowledges the rise in gun violence<\/strong>, stating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe loss of life to violence across our country, most recently in Wisconsin, is certainly a major concern \u2013 I want everyone to feel safe in the communities in which they live.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, rather than proposing proven policy solutions<\/strong>, Schmitt shifts the focus to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Mental health<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Substance abuse<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Prosecutors failing to hold criminals accountable<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These issues cannot be ignored<\/strong>, but they do not explain why the U.S. has significantly more gun deaths than other developed nations with similar mental health challenges<\/a><\/strong>. What\u2019s missing?<\/strong> Any mention of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Universal background checks<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Closing loopholes that allow people to buy guns without screening<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Red flag laws<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Temporarily removing guns from individuals at risk of harming themselves or others<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Federal funding for gun violence prevention programs<\/strong> \u2013 Supporting community-driven solutions proven to reduce crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udce2 Why Gun Violence Prevention Needs Policy, Not Deflection<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The data is clear<\/a><\/strong>\u2014states with stronger gun laws have fewer gun deaths<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Background checks work<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 In states that require background checks for all gun sales, there are 35% fewer firearm homicides<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Red flag laws save lives<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 States that implement these measures see fewer suicides and mass shootings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Community intervention reduces violence<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Programs like Cure Violence<\/a><\/strong> have reduced shootings by 40-70% in some cities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite overwhelming evidence, Schmitt refuses to engage in a discussion on these policies<\/strong>, instead using politically convenient scapegoats<\/strong> to shift responsibility away from legislative solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udea8 Missourians Deserve Real Answers \u2013 Here\u2019s How to Take Action<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gun violence is not just a talking point<\/strong>\u2014it\u2019s an urgent public health crisis affecting our families, communities, and schools. If Senator Schmitt truly<\/strong> cares about making Missouri safer, he must be willing to discuss real solutions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udce2 Take Action:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2714 Call Senator Schmitt\u2019s office<\/strong> and demand a real stance on gun safety policies: \ud83d\udcde 314-230-7263<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2714 Email him<\/a><\/strong> and ask whether he supports universal background checks and red flag laws: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2714 Share this blog post<\/strong> and encourage others to speak up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t afford to let our leaders sidestep responsibility. The time for action is now.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Reckless Move: How This New Gun Law Endangers Communities<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senator Eric Schmitt\u2019s response to a question about gun violence prevention completely sidesteps real solutions\u2014offering political deflection instead of meaningful action. While he acknowledges rising crime, his focus on mental health and prosecution ignores proven measures like universal background checks, red flag laws, and community-driven violence intervention programs.<\/p>\n

Missourians deserve real answers, not vague rhetoric. Why won\u2019t Schmitt commit to policies that save lives? Read the full breakdown of his response and learn how you can take action to demand real solutions.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udce2 It\u2019s time to hold our leaders accountable. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[257,254,255,237,256],"class_list":["post-7836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-gun-control-laws","tag-gun-violence-prevention","tag-missouri-politics","tag-public-safety","tag-senator-eric-schmitt"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/pexels-photo-5462022.jpeg?fit=1880%2C1253&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7836"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7841,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7836\/revisions\/7841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}