Roger Marmet and C. DeShola Dawkins: Where is DC’s ‘Vision Zero’ for gun violence?

A year ago this month, Tom Marmet was shot and killed while driving across DC in rush-hour traffic. He was heading home from his job as a social worker for local nonprofit So Others Might Eat. Tom hoped to dedicate his life to serving the most-underserved people of the city where he was born.

On Aug. 21, 2013, Timothy Dawkins-El was caught in the crossfire of two other men, shot in the back and killed. He was a leader, mentor and minister who loved working with local youth and left behind a 2-year-old son.

Our sons were young, altruistic and just starting their careers. Both had promising futures. And in both cases, their deaths were tragic, the result of bullets intended for another person. It could have happened to anyone’s son or daughter. And as the number of people killed with a gun in DC continues to rise — more than 100 so far this year — we cannot stand quietly and watch this happen to even more families.

That’s why we joined hundreds of fellow victims, survivors and gun violence prevention advocates on Oct. 2 at the Wilson Building to deliver a message to the District’s elected officials: You must do more to end the scourge of gun violence and to significantly expand preventative programs that are proven to work. We joined the event, organized by the DC chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, because we know what it’s like to lose a child to the plague of daily gun violence.

For too long, DC has accepted that gun violence is a problem we can’t solve. The reality is that the city can greatly reduce gun violence with an evidence-based focus on solutions that have reduced deaths in other cities.

Research shows that gun homicides and assaults are disproportionately concentrated in cities, and DC has one of the highest rates of gun homicides in the country. There are a wide variety of proven solutions for reducing this violence and increasing safety in cities like ours.

Here’s what we need:

A Vision Zero for gun violence.

In the past few years, the District launched a Vision Zero initiative to eliminate all traffic fatalities by 2024, appointed a nightlife and culture director, and established the Mayor’s Commission on Healthcare Systems Transformation. We applaud these efforts. But where is the Vision Zero for eliminating fatalities from gun violence? We urgently need a gun violence reduction czar for our city and task force to cut through red tape and save lives.

Since the passage of the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act in 2016, the DC government has piloted several effective gun violence prevention and intervention programs. The Office of the Attorney General operates Cure the Streets, which is based on the Cure Violence model, and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement administers the Pathways Program. But key promises of the NEAR Act remain unfulfilled. These initiatives are housed within their own silos and have not been staffed or brought to scale quickly enough. We need a commission dedicated to gun safety that can help centralize, scale and appropriately resource existing and new gun violence reduction efforts.

Invest in the hardest-hit communities.

How shameful is it for one of the richest cities in America to have broken security cameras and inadequate lighting in public housing and recreation centers? It’s great to offer rebates for residents and businesses to install security cameras, but it’s also critical to quickly fix the city’s own cameras and lighting. We need to dramatically increase investment, with an initial focus on known gun hot spots and the people most likely to be involved in gun violence. We also need to implement evidence-based solutions that prevent violence and saves lives.

Treat trauma.

As our families and friends know, trauma runs deep when you lose a loved one to gun violence. Its physical and mental effects ripple outward and cause debilitating pain.

But we know the trauma goes much deeper for children and communities who live with the real fear of gun violence while walking to school or waiting for the bus. The District needs to dramatically increase funding for — and access to — community-based trauma resources, cognitive behavioral therapy and additional trained professionals.

No one should be shot while driving down the street, walking to the ice cream truck or waiting inside a bus shelter. No one should feel like there is no way out of a life of violence.

Like so many other victims, our two sons deserved to live out their lives in the city they loved. We need to do everything we can to ensure others don’t fall prey to our neglect. We have the tools to solve these problems. We owe it to all of our sons and daughters to work together to make DC a model for the rest of the country and to leave a legacy of safe streets throughout the entire city. We want peace and prosperity for every single resident. 

Eliminating gun violence requires proper funding as well as a comprehensive plan. A willing coalition of activists, nonprofits, faith leaders, businesses and parents who have lost their children stands ready to work with the city to eliminate gun violence on our streets. What we are doing now is neither sufficient nor effective.

Roger Marmet is a father and DC business owner. C. DeShola Dawkins is a mother, grandmother and DC educator.

---

About commentaries

The DC Line welcomes commentaries representing various viewpoints on local issues of concern, but the opinions expressed do not represent those of The DC Line. Submissions of up to 850 words may be sent to editor Chris Kain at chriskain@thedcline.org.