In this issue of the digest:

• Jonathan McMillan to Speak at CFCU General Meeting on November 5. REGISTER TODAY at https://tinyurl.com/5ucdnprh

• “Let’s Talk Guns, Colorado”—a new campaign by the Office of Gun Violence Prevention

• Report on Gun Violence in Colorado Released by CFCU

• Annual CFCU Vigil to Remember All Victims and Survivors of Gun Violence is December 6

• Urgent Action Needed: Supporting the Proposed ATF Rule

• Tribute to those who died in Lewiston, Maine

• CFCU Calendar for November and beyond

• Our Featured Congregation: Bonai Shalom

Jonathan McMillan to speak at CFCU General Meeting on November 5! Register Today!

DATE:  Sunday, Nov. 5 from 3:00 PM – 5:00; light refreshments served starting at 2:45

LOCATION: Calvary Baptist Church, 6500 East Girard Ave. in Denver

REGISTER: tiny url.com/CFCUNov5

We are pleased to announce that Jonathan McMillan, Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP), will provide an overview of Let’s Talk Guns, Colorado at our Nov. 5 general meeting.  The meeting will include a preview of the report by the Colorado Public Health Reoundtable on Firearm-Related Violence Prevention, time for networking and planning for the December 6 Vigil, and an opportunity to learn what’s new at CFCU.

CFCU members worked very hard for the passage of both ERPO and safe storage laws and effective implementation of ERPO, so we are very interested in learning how congregational members can help forward this initiative.  Jonathan’s presentation will include the campaign goals; strategies; and underlying research conducted to ensure effective messaging. (See more about Jonathan below.)

More on Jonathan McMillan

He’s spent over 30 years in the field of youth violence prevention working with individual families, community organizations, higher education institutions, and government agencies, including building and leading the City & County of Denver’s Office of Youth Violence Prevention,  where he has served as Director of Youth Violence Prevention and the Chair of the Youth Violence Prevention Action Table. In addition to his government service, Jonathan is the founder of Be Better Than Average, a consulting company focused on personal improvement, gang and youth violence prevention, intervention and critical response and post-incarceration support.

“Let’s Talk Guns, Colorado”— a new campaign by the Office of Gun Violence Prevention

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention has launched Let’s Talk Guns, Colorado, an English- and Spanish-language campaign to reduce firearm injuries and deaths in Colorado. 

The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about state and federal laws and existing resources related to reducing gun violence in our communities. It also challenges everyone – whether they own a gun or not – to have constructive conversations with friends, family, and neighbors about firearm safety. The campaign is based on the premise that we all have a role to play to prevent gun violence and can take everyday actions to hold ourselves and each other accountable for making Colorado a safer and healthier place to live. 

We encourage you to visit LetsTalkGunsColorado.com to learn about: 

• Best practices for safe storage of firearms. 

• How to report a lost or stolen firearm. 

• Mental health and substance misuse treatment and resources (including suicide prevention services). 

• Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and more. 

You can also join the conversation about ways to prevent gun violence in Colorado on social media. Follow the campaign on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Use hashtags #EndGunViolence and #GunViolencePrevention on your social media platforms and share LetsTalkGunsColorado.com (English) and/or ColoradoHablemosdeArmas.com (En Español) with friends and family. 

Note: The above is from the quarterly newsletter of the Colorado Office of Gun Violence Prevention. To sign up to receive OGVP's newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/n3oaDuF/ogvp

Article contributed by Stephanie Greenburg, Congregation Bonai Shalom

Report on Gun Violence in Colorado Released by CFCU

In 2022, a total of 2,685 people in Colorado were injured or killed with firearms, an average of more than 7 people a day. In that year, firearms were the leading cause of death among both Colorado’s children aged 5-14 and older teens/young adults aged 15-24. These are just a few of the findings from CFCU’s recently released report, Profile of Gun Violence in Colorado 2023, on the prevalence, trends, and demographics of gun violence in the state. The data in the report are from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the CDC. 

The public health approach to gun violence and its prevention adopted by CFCU several years ago means starting with data and using this information to help inform prevention and intervention strategies and advocacy. We hope this report will be useful to you in your efforts to address gun violence. You can find a link to the report on CFCU’s website on the homepage and in the Resources section: cfcu-co.org.

Article contributed by Stephanie Greenberg, Congregation Bonai Shalom

What do we do with the information in the Profile?

• Read it to become a more effective advocate

• Develop strategies based on it

• When firearms advocates makes statements you can respond with your knowledge based on whether or not their comments are true.

• Analyze trends based on demographics and make plans

Annual CFCU Vigil to Remember All Victims and Survivors of Gun Violence - December 6 

Every year since 2013, the Newtown Action Alliance Foundation and their partners in the gun violence prevention community have sponsored the National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence on or near the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting tragedy. Marking the 11th anniversary, the National Vigil is on December 6th this year. Since 2014, CFCU has organized annual vigils in concert with the National Vigil and will also hold this year’s vigil on December 6th. We do this to remember victims and survivors of gun violence and to raise awareness of the crisis of gun violence and its devastating consequences for families and communities.  

Although planning for the vigil is at an early stage, we envision that there will be separate events in several locations in the metro area, corresponding with where clusters of CFCU member congregations are located. At the member meeting on November 5th, there will be an opportunity for representatives of member congregations to gather in small, geographically based groups to discuss what they'd like to do and how CFCU can support their efforts. CFCU co-chairs Susan Oakes and Stephanie Greenberg will provide overall coordination and support as these plans develop. 

Even if you're not able to come to the November 5th meeting, we urge you to attend the December 6th vigil that is most convenient for you. More information will be emailed as the plans develop.  

If you have questions, would like to share your ideas, or would like to participate in the planning, please email Susan Oakes (soakes1219@gmail.com) and Stephanie Greenberg (researchswgreenberg@gmail.com). 

Article contributed by Stephanie Greenburg, Congregation Bonai Shalom

Urgent Action Needed: Supporting the Proposed ATF Rule

A new rule has been proposed by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that would close a major loophole in the current Federal background check system. The proposed rule would broaden and clarify the definition of who is “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms and would therefore be required to obtain a federal firearms license (FFL) and perform background checks. The broader definition would include "all persons who devote time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms … to predominantly earn a profit through the repetitive purchase and sale of firearms.” 

This new definition targets occasional sellers of firearms, who tend to be at gun shows and on-line but are not federally licensed and do not conduct background checks. Guns sold without background checks can fall into dangerous hands, including convicted felons, domestic abusers, gun traffickers, and other prohibited persons, with no questions asked. Colorado closed this loophole in 2000 but is surrounded by states that haven’t. 

For a summary and full text of the proposed rule and instructions for submitting comments: 

https://www.regulations.gov/document/ATF-2023-0002-0001 

Please submit your individual comments supporting this proposed rule. We have until December 7, 2023. 

Two excellent sources of talking points:

Everytown for Gun Safety: https://secure.everyaction.com/w8uoozjzqEy5nhCc9OR1aA2?sourceid=1000305 

Colorado Ceasefire: 

1)    Three of the four guns used in the Columbine massacre were purchased at a gun show.  The buyer testified that she deliberately sought out tables indicating “no background check required” as she did not want a record of her purchases. 
2)    Coloradans overwhelmingly (70%) approved closing the gun show loophole in 2000. 
3)    Despite strong arguments in 2000 that gun shows would disappear because of the law closing the loophole, gun shows continue to flourish in Colorado. 
4)    We need to staunch the flow of guns to prohibited buyers. Background checks are the first step in doing that. 
5)    There are hundreds of thousands of unlicensed gun sellers, and their numbers are increasing, according to ATF director Steve Dettelbach.  
6)    One in five gun sales are completed without a background check. 
7)    Nearly 90% of Americans support background checks. 
8)    At a gun show, having unlicensed sellers next to federally licensed sellers is like boarding a plane where some people had to go through security and others skipped it entirely. 
9)    Guns that don’t go through background checks are therefore unaccompanied by sales records that could later be used in crime gun tracing. 
10)    In addition to background checks and record keeping, bringing all those engaged in the business of selling firearms for a profit increases compliance with other ATF safety rules, thereby improving public safety. 

It's crucial that everyone in the gun violence prevention community submit a comment in support of this new rule.

Article contributed by Stephanie Greenburg, Congregation Bonai Shalom

We remember those who died, who were injured and whose loved ones were taken on October 25, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine.

Tricia C. Asselin, 53

Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40

William Frank Brackett, 48

Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34

Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51

Maxx A. Hathaway, 35

Bryan M. MacFarlane, 41

Keith D. Macneir, 64

Ronald G. Morin, 55

Joshua A. Seal, 36

Arthur Fred Strout, 42

Stephen M. Vozzella, 45

Lucille M. Violette, 73

Robert E. Violette, 76

Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57

Jason Adam Walker, 51

William A. Young, 44

Aaron Young, 14

CFCU November Calendar

• November 5: 3 - 5 p.m. CFCU General Meeting Calvary Baptist Church, 6500 East Girard Ave. in Denver

• November 13: Cohort 8 HIP Graduation

• November 14: 1:30 p.m. Advocacy Team Meeting on Zoom. Please contact Stephanie Greenberg (research@swgreenberg.com) for more information and for zoom link.

• November 15: 11 - 12:30 Public Health Strategies Action Team Meeting on Zoom. Please contact Alana Smart (alanaks@aol.com) for more information and for zoom link.

• November 16: 1-2 p.m. Communications Team Meeting on Zoom. Please contact Daryl Foelske (dfoelske@gmail.com) for more information and for the zoom link.

• November 21: 3:30 - 5 p.m. Steering Committee Meeting

• November 23: Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for all of our CFCU members and friends!

• December 6: Vigil to Honor Victims of Sandy Hook and All Who Have Been Harmed by Gun Violence

• December 9: 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. Guns to Gardens Location: TBA

Our Featured Congregation: Congregation Bonai Shalom

Founded in 1981, with just a few families, Congregation Bonai Shalom now has over 250 families and including more than 90 children. They combine traditional Jewish worship with social action and green initiatives. Rabbi Mark Soloway has been the rabbi there for over 20 years.

Stephanie Greenburg, a member of the Executive Committee, the Steering Committee and the Advocacy Action Team at CFCU is a member of Bonai Shalom. The community of Bonai Shalom, in Boulder are truly “Seekers/Builders of Peace” as their name indicates. Stephanie explained “The core values in Judaism and at Bonai Shalom are the sacredness of human life and repairing the world or Tikkun Olam. This is why gun violence prevention is important for us.”

“In the spring of 2013, after the Sandy Hook massacre in December of 2012, I called the chair of the Social Action Committee at Bonai Shalom and asked ‘Are you doing something about gun violence?’ The reply was ‘No, but you can.’ From that point I started with an invitation to a meeting and about 10 people came. Those same 10 continue to meet and we have expanded.”

“We now have a Gun Violence Prevention Shabbat, for about 15 - 20 minutes each year at our morning services. Rabbi Mark initiated this. He participates in and is very supportive of our work.

Stephanie spent 22 years as an independent consultant and so brings skills that have benefitted the GVP community. For the last three years she has written the Profile of Gun Violence in Colorado, based on the information she gets from state data. You can read her summary and her full report on CFCU’s website: https://www.cfcu-co.org

Article contributed by Rita Niblack, Most Precious Blood Catholic Church.

Questions and comments? Contact Digest Editor: Rita Niblack (raniblack@icloud.com)