GUN VIOLENCE TAKES NO HOLIDAY
SFIC RESPONDS TO MONTEREY PARK SHOOTINGS
Monday, January 23, 2023 -- As our Asian sisters and brothers commenced celebration of the Lunar New Year, with all of its hopes and possibilities for brighter days ahead, the horrific shooting attack at the Monterey Park Star Ballroom Dance Studio, which resulted in the deaths of 11 people, injury to at least 9 others and self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound of the perpetrator, was a stark reminder that gun violence takes no holiday.
The San Francisco Interfaith Council Board of Directors, constituent congregations, judicatories, religious-based schools and healthcare institutions, along with our faith-based social service agencies, share in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community's collective grief over the senseless and tragic loss of life in these shootings. We pray for the souls of the victims who perished, their families and loved ones who grieve and those who were injured and traumatized by this attack.
Sadly, this attack is yet another in a long series of tragedies perpetrated by those who have access to and use guns as weapons against innocent and helpless victims.
The necessity to issue statements such as this will only cease when the root cause of such violence is seriously and responsibly addressed. The SFIC values its longstanding relationship with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and today looks to this respected organization for guidance on constructive ways to respond to this tragic event. The time is now for communities of faith and their leaders to stand together with a strong, unified and prophetic voice and call for an end to gun violence.
