The Yolo County and Sacramento Valley Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence will host a community forum on May 27.  UC Davis gun violence researcher Dr. Garen Wintemute of the UC Davis School of Medicine will be joined by Senator Lois Wolk; Assemblymember Bill Dodd; former Assemblymember Helen Thomson; and Amanda Wilcox, legislative and policy chair of the California Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 

 

The forum will take place from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the first floor auditorium of the Genome Center, 451 Health Science Drive on the UC Davis campus in Davis.  The event is free and open to the public.

 

The event will mark the one-year anniversary of the Isla Vista shootings near the UC Santa Barbara campus, which claimed the lives of six people and injured fourteen others. 

 

“Unfortunately, the violence continues,” said Anke Schennink, chair of the Yolo County Brady Chapter.  “A recent tragic death in Davis, and yet another shooting in Isla Vista, reinforce the urgent need for action to make our campuses and our communities safer.”

 

Speakers will highlight recent research findings and current legislation aimed at decreasing the incidence of gun violence.  Senator Wolk will discuss Senate Bill 707, her legislation to prohibit individuals with concealed weapons permits from bringing firearms onto any public or private school (K-12), college, or university campus without permission of campus officials.  Dean Michael Lairmore of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine will offer remarks in memory of Whitney Engler, the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine student who was shot and killed in March.

 

The forum is co-hosted by the Associated Students of UC Davis-sponsored One Campus Health Coalition Initiative and Saving California Communities.

 

Directions to the Genome Center can be found at:

 

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence works to pass, enforce, and protect sensible laws and public policy that address gun violence at the federal and state levels. The Brady Campaign does this by engaging and activating the American public, electing officials who support common sense gun laws, and increasing public awareness of gun violence. Through advocacy campaigns, chapters work locally to educate people about the risks of gun ownership, honor victims of gun violence, and pass sensible gun laws.   For more information, visit http://www.bradycampaign.org/.

 

The UC Davis One Campus Health Coalition Initiative (OCHC), an Associated Students of UC Davis Office of Advocacy and Student Representation-sponsored initiative, is a combined effort to help strengthen the Davis campus health community. OCHC is founded based on the universal recognition that health is interconnected within all aspects of student life and the importance of health bodies and organizations coming together as a collective on one shared mission that embodies the university’s mission statement: service to our communities and to our society. For more information about ASUCD and its units, visit http://asucd.ucdavis.edu/ or email ochc.ucd@gmail.com 

 

Saving California Communities is a group of Yolo County community members who join forces to advocate for effective state and local governance. This group brings together county, city, and school elected representatives; educators; families; students; health professionals; university and community college representatives; senior citizens; government employees; and business owners.  For additional information, please visit http://www.SavingCA.org or e-mail info@SavingCA.org.