Giving Your Life to a Cause |

On Monday, October 4th, a few hundred people got together to celebrate New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and the work they do with high school students throughout the city. This annual benefit for NYAGV's Education Fund brought activists, law enforcement officers, politicians and caring citizens together to support gun-free communities.

As their partner organization, we are proud to spread the word about all the terrific things NYAGV does to prepare high school students so that they feel confident to address gun violence in their communities. We think they've made very smart decisions to handle both the legislative arm of gun violence prevention and youth education regarding this issue.

The benefit was unlike other benefits I've attended, in that it dealt with such a serious issue. Although people were celebrating, there was still a lingering sadness. Many of the guests had come to the issue of gun violence prevention because of personal tragedy, and the typical party small talk - how did you get involved with NYAGV? - forced them to re-live that tragedy again and again.

I came home and read an article by Malcolm Gladwell in this week's issue of The New Yorker about social media and social protest, where he discussed the level of urgency and personal connection that caused the civil rights movement, comparing it to our modern-day protest movement. With the advent of social media, we are able to reach more people with information about social causes, but those people might be further and further removed from the cause, lacking a personal connection. People during the civil rights movement were willing to give their lives for their cause, and now we're more likely to sign a petition.

For the attendees at Monday's NYAGV benefit, gun violence is an issue of the utmost urgency, and one for which they have a personal connection. I wish a greater mass of people could connect to this issue, and understand that it affects them personally even if they've never lost a loved one to gun violence. The only way we're going to cure this epidemic is by engaging more people on a personal level, and instilling in them the sense of urgency that truly exists when it comes to gun violence in the United States.