A SAN press release states: As the Asian-American community geared up this past weekend to celebrate the Lunar New Year - only the most important holiday in Chinese and other Asian cultures - news of the Monterey Park shooting brought it to a grinding halt. Shots fired from a 72-year-old gunman killed 11 patrons of the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, located on LA’s Garvey Avenue, home to several Asian-owned businesses.
Communities in the state of California had all of two days to mourn until another act of gun violence claimed 7 lives across two separate locations in the city of Half Moon Bay (30 miles south of San Francisco).
Motives behind the two incidents remain unknown; stark similarities, however, stand out. Both were acts of senseless gun violence that claimed lives of people belonging to the AAPI community. It only makes sense then, to see that stricter gun laws have been a consistent ask within the Asian-American pool of voters.
As our community grapples with the loss of innocent lives in the United States, 39th mass shooting only in 2023 , SAN’s values of rallying for community safety and well-being stand out more than ever. To see our brothers and sisters affected by these acts of violence only ignites our fire to fight against gun violence.
Not too long ago, our Executive Director Shakeel Syed penned an op-ed on Making Sense of Senseless Violence , a leading cause of death in our country–all tragic–yet all preventable. SAN commits to work every single day to further community-based solutions to end this chronic public health epidemic. While we may learn more details of both shootings in the coming days, we are in constant communications with thought leaders and community partners as we respond to these tragedies.
We stand with our partners, friends, and colleagues in the AAPI community, offering support and assistance as we work together to end gun violence in our state. - SAN |
