Chief Scott M. Knight

Republican Congressman Mike Castle from Delaware had to ask Chief Knight to repeat his statistic. “Since 1963 more Americans have died from gunfire than perished in combat in the whole of the 20th century.”

Our country’s war losses are staggering and devastating to our families, but when you hear that we lose 30,000 Americans every year to gun violence, it does make you stop and think … and ask the question again.

Chief Knight is head of the Chaska, Minnesota’s police department and chair of the Firearms Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the largest association of law enforcement executives in the world.On July 14, 2010, Chief Knight provided testimony on H.R 2324, the bill to close the gun show loophole, at the first-ever Congressional Forum on the gun show loophole. Brady activists and Virginia Tech victims pressed Representative Bobby Scott (VA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Crime, to hold the Forum.

That’s when Chief Knight’s statistic about America’s losses to gun violence struck disbelief among the Committee members and audience in the packed hearing room. “The loss of so many lives is senseless, but the solutions are obvious. The solid first step is to close the gun show loophole that allows the sale of guns on a cash and carry basis, with no identification required.”

Chief Knight’s fight for strict gun laws is not only professional. ” It’s personal,” he says. “A few years ago, one of my officers was shot in the line of duty. And last May, another officer, an uncle to one of my sergeants, was ambushed, shot and killed.”

Chief Knight actively speaks out for stronger gun laws every occasion he gets. In 2007, he joined other law enforcement at a Brady press conference urging Congress to repeal the Tiahrt provision that limits law enforcement’s access to crime trace data that would help solve gun crimes. He also advocates for reporting of lost or stolen guns; safe storage of firearms and ammunition, especially around children; and limits on the kinds of guns and ammunition that can be purchased. “Military assault weapons and armor-piercing bullets do not belong on our streets. We’re being outgunned. It’s like law enforcement is in an arms race with criminals.”

But Chief Knight also recognizes the challenge of moving legislators to side with law enforcement in enacting strict, life-saving gun laws. “We need partners in every community, we need elected officials in Congress and in state legislatures to stop catering to special interests and instead act in the public interest to reduce the terrible, and escalating, risk of gun violence in America.”

CLICK HERE to tell your U.S. Senators to take action to CLOSE THE GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE!

I’m not doing this because I work for the Brady Campaign . . .

I’m doing this as someone who worked to get Gabby Giffords elected… someone who knew Gabe Zimmerman, her staffer who was killed last January… and as someone who understands all too well that it could have been you or me standing in front of that Safeway in Tucson.

My heart breaks to think of all the lives that were changed forever because it was way too easy for a disturbed man to get semi-automatic with a high-capacity assault clip.

I think of Gabe, who wanted to someday be a school teacher;

Of Dorwin Stoddard, who threw himself on top of his wife, Mavy, to protect her from gunfire;

Of Christina-Taylor Green, a 9 year-old whose dream was to some day be the first woman to play major league baseball;

And I’m determined to act so that no one else has to die in a senseless shooting spree like they did. So please — I ask you to mark this solemn anniversary by standing with the Brady Campaign once again.

I ask you to make a gift for those we lost, for those who survived and for all of us who understand that as long as our nation’s weak gun laws make it easy for dangerous people to get deadly weapons, this kind of tragedy could happen again in any of our communities.

“I think the more we tell our stories, the more we give others the permission to tell theirs,” says William Kellibrew, president and spokesman of the William Kellibrew Foundation. “That helps break the silence and moves people to act.”

William has been moved to speak out and act because of his tragedy. William’s mother and brother were shot in front of him when he was a young boy. The shooter turned to William, placing the gun to his head. William begged for his life and was let go. After a nearly three-hour standoff, police entered to find three bodies, including the killer’s. The shooter was a convicted felon who had spent 11 years in prison, but illegally got his hands on a gun.

The William Kellibrew Foundation is dedicated to helping victims of gun violence and domestic violence find their voices and restore their lives. The Brady Campaign and Brady Center are honored to house the Foundation in its Washington, DC office.The Foundation’s partnership with the Brady Campaign extends beyond shared office space. William’s speaking tours take him around the country, and at every stop, he helps to educate people about the Brady Campaign’s legislative agenda to enact stronger gun laws.

William has told his story countless times – both here in the United States and abroad. He has been a guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which has 40 million viewers across the globe. Just recently, he was the keynote speaker at an event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

Along with Brady President Paul Helmke, he joined a press event and rally after four young people were killed and five others injured, where they urged Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty to do more to stop gun violence. Ironically, at the same time D.C. activists were at the rally, U.S. Senators John McCain and Jon Tester offered legislation to gut all of D.C.’s gun laws. William and the Brady Campaign believe that it would be foolhardy to make it easier for dangerous people to get guns and will work to stop this dangerous legislation.

No matter how frequently he tells the story, it never gets easier to tell. William admits, “It’s a treacherous story, and has been a long road to recovery. I have to live with it every day, but it’s motivational for me and those who hear it. For those who can do it, using their story to channel grief to more positive actions is incredibly effective.”