09/11/2025
As young professionals in Minneapolis and Saint Paul who live, work, learn, and serve here — We have seen and felt the impact of gun violence on our communities.
We are reflecting on the recent shooting at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis, and also on the shootings that claimed the lives of Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home; tragic murders of Stageina Whiting, Amarie Alowonle, Amir Atkins and the countless other lives in our community that have been taken or forever changed by gun violence this summer. From our youngest to our elders — in schools, churches, parks, grocery stores, hospitals, and on our very streets — no space feels untouched. Our neighbors, our families, and our futures are all impacted.
We know this issue stretches far past our local area, and ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Gun violence is a public health crisis — and it is unacceptable that accessing what harms us remains easier than accessing what heals us.
We urge our peers and neighbors to take action alongside groups already leading in this work, including Students Demand Action and Moms Demand Action. Support their organizing, attend their events, amplify their demands, and stand with them in calling for policies that prioritize safety, accountability, and healing and choosing our lives over guns. Change will not come unless we demand it together.
