Survivors, faith leaders, researchers and grassroots advocates gathered at the Baird Center for the Emergency Gun Violence Summit, all focused on one goal: saving lives. The event brought together voices from WAVE, Johns Hopkins, Latino Forward and Black Men Build, 414 Life and other advocates to discuss how to end the cycle of gun violence.
Kristina Paris, a survivor of gun violence, shared her traumatic experience and advocacy work.
"I was robbed and raped at gunpoint," Paris said.
Paris, who experienced a horrific attack at gunpoint, is now an advocate who wants others to join the fight.
"I just wish our leaders would listen. It's not about taking guns away. It's about making sure people who have guns are going through background checks and the common sense laws that can be done," Paris said.
Data from the Violence Policy Center and WAVE paints a grim picture — 762 Wisconsinites lost their lives to guns in 2023. More than 500 were suicides, over 230 were homicides, and Black residents made up nearly two-thirds of those killed, despite being only about 6 percent of the state's population.
Watch: Survivors and advocates raise their voices at Milwaukee Gun Violence Summit
Jenevia Blanks from Moms Demand Action knows the impact guns have on families after her cousin was shot and killed.
"We have to start saying more," Blanks said.
"I want other families not to go through the same hurt I went through. Everyone needs to speak up, say something, do something to help end this public health crisis," Blanks said.
From researchers to local advocates, experts at the summit say data-driven policies such as background checks, red-flag laws and community intervention can save lives.
"When guns are more easily accessible, they are likely to fall in the hands of people who are going to use those firearms to harm themselves or someone else," said Nick Matuszewski from WAVE Educational Fund.
Mallory O'Brien, an associate scientist from Johns Hopkins, emphasized the potential for change in Wisconsin.
"I think there's a lot of passion in the state of Wisconsin, a lot of people that want to see change. That passion and action is what's going to make a difference in the state of Wisconsin," O'Brien said.
Through panel discussions and sharing resources, organizations at Latino Forward emphasized the power of collaboration.
"We have the credible messengers, we have the critical response teams here, folks that are down in the neighborhoods every day sitting on our panels, next to the doctors of Johns Hopkins, from Children's, the Medical College of Wisconsin. This isn't an issue for the elites to solve. This isn't an issue for just the folks on the street to solve all by themselves," said Darryl Morrin from Latino Forward.
Community organizer Lanisha Martin from Black Men Build understands the importance of unity to curb gun violence.
"Seeing the city come together gives me hope, period. It's a beautiful thing to see people come together," Martin said.
As the state continues to grapple with another year of gun violence, organizers plan to take what was discussed at the summit and build a strategy to address the crisis from the state Capitol to the city blocks, turning pain into policy and outrage into action.
"We just need the political will to get these solutions passed in the state legislature and signed by the governor," Matuszewski said.
"We need to do something!" Blanks said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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