GRAND HAVEN, Michigan — Grand Haven held its second Silence the Violence March on Saturday to raise awareness about the issue of gun violence as well as honor those the community has lost to it.
According to End Gun Violence Michigan, events like this one began 17 years ago when the Church of Messiah in Detroit was fed up with the gun violence in their community, so they held a march.
The march was a chance for community members to bring together local organizations working towards peace and safety and remember their loved ones lost to gun violence.
More than 20 Silence the Violence events are happening across Michigan throughout June, which has been called the Silence the Violence Month of Action.
Grand Haven's march was held at Central Park from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
One of the event's volunteer organizers, Valerie Martin, said the march is not only about raising awareness of the problems gun violence poses, but also the solutions to it.
"I think people know that we have gun violence in our midst, but what they probably don't know is that there are ways to prevent it," Martin said. "And it's going to take a complex solution to a complex problem, but there are ways forward, so that's what the march is about."
Martin mentioned steps Governor Gretchen Whitmer has taken that are seen by organizations such as End Gun Violence Michigan as moving in the right direction.
The organization's website mentions gun safety laws that went into effect this year, including a safe storage law, extreme risk protection orders, protections for domestic violence survivors and universal background checks.
Whitmer also recently launched a Gun Violence Prevention Task Force which will work to prevent gun violence in the state by developing and recommending laws and policies that could decrease gun violence rates.
"I think we know that gun violence can happen anywhere," Martin said. "Sometimes folks in places such as beautiful West Michigan think things like, 'That can't happen here,' but they can. So I think the importance is just to make sure we don't lose sight of the work that needs to be done."
She said gun violence is an issue that has personally affected many people.
"I think all of us in some way have been impacted by gun violence, whether it's children or grandchildren who are locked down at a school or people who take their lives by gun through suicide," Martin said. "These are not unusual things in the world today. So that makes it personal."
An Expungement Fair and Gun Safety Event was also held on Saturday in Muskegon Heights at the Lake Hawks Community Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A full list of events being held throughout Michigan for the rest of June can be found here.
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