Initiative seeks awareness, reforms to gun laws
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — Student-led gun violence prevention initiative No Future Without Today and supporters will gather in Centennial Park on June 22 to demand lawmakers make meaningful changes so more people do not die needlessly from gun violence.
The third annual March with Oxford begins at 11 a.m. with sign making. The event will feature guest speakers at noon and a march from Centennial Park to Oxford High School at 1 p.m.
The nonprofit was organized by survivors of the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School and is partnered with the National March For Our Lives group. No Future Without Today advocates for changes in gun laws “so communities don’t have to endure the pain and suffering that follows gun violence.”
Around 132 Americans die every day from firearm related injuries in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Teens and young adults aged 15-34 years old are one of four groups with the highest firearm-homicide rates listed by the CDC.
The group calls for secure storage laws, red flag laws, universal background checks, assault-weapon bans and more. Past protesters have called for raising the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21-years-old.
“I want to use my voice and encourage others to use their voices so that we get the attention of the government and of people all around the country, so that everyone starts to realize that this is an issue that needs immediate solving,” No Future Without Today Vice President and Oxford graduate Madeline Johnson said during a rally in 2022.
Johnson also wants to see “social media red flag laws” and mental health reform in schools to de-stigmatize mental health care.
About 600 supporters – students, parents, family, friends, community members – gathered in Centennial Park in downtown Oxford in 2022 to demand gun reform laws in the wake of more mass shootings at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 and at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York on May 14.
No Future Without Today recommends attendees wear comfortable walking shoes, and encourages carpooling. To learn more about March With Oxford and No Future Without Today, visit www.facebook.com/nofuturewithouttoday and www.nofuturewithouttoday.org/.