Survivors, Parents & Advocates Lead Gun Safety Roundtable at Oakland U

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — On the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Oxford High School mass shooting, gun safety advocate and parent Emily Busch convened a gun violence prevention roundtable with more than a dozen survivors, parents, students, and advocates at Oakland University Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier this month, Busch, whose son Andrew is a survivor of the Oxford shooting, invited Congressman John James (MI-10) to participate in the roundtable, but James ignored the invitation and opportunity to discuss this important issue. This follows James voting just two weeks ago to prohibit funding for CDC’s firearm injury and mortality prevention research despite Americans citing gun violence as a top public health concern. John James, who won his 2022 election by just 1,600 votes, is bankrolled by the NRA and gun lobby:

• $502,816 in support from the NRA
• $260,944 in contributions from gun rights
• $358,889 in independent spending support from gun rights

In addition to the Oxford shooting, November 30 also marks the 30-year anniversary of the signing of the bipartisan Brady Bill, which established America's federal background check system for gun sales. These life-saving measures are a critical foundation to preventing gun violence, however, there remains more work to do to keep our communities safe.

“The overlap of these two anniversaries serves as a stark reminder that we need commonsense solutions now more than ever. My son and his classmates were forced to run for their lives from a school shooter, and if we leave it up to John James, more kids across Michigan and the country will be forced to do the same. Every day that passes with Washington politicians accepting campaign dollars from the gun lobby, and then turning around to vote against life-saving measures, is a day we allow another preventable tragedy to happen,” said Emily Busch, gun safety advocate and candidate for Congress.

“If someone believes that their freedom to possess a firearm is more important than their child’s ability to live safe from gun violence, I implore them to re-evaluate their priorities. Why do you value an inanimate object over my right to live… I am going to have to live with this for the rest of my life, but I don’t want anyone else to have to live with that,” said Madeline Johnson, Oxford shooting survivor, Co-President of student-led gun violence prevention organization No Future Without Today, and member of BRADY’s youth-led initiative Team ENOUGH.

“The NRA doesn’t speak for me as a responsible gun owner. What we need to do is continue to have reasonable, respectful conversations to create a stronger, safer Michigan and country… I say this as a marksman: if you fire 10 shots and you miss, the other guy is going to get you. Can’t we agree 100 rounds in a magazine is a problem? Can’t we agree 50 rounds is a problem? … It’s clear we need gun-sense leaders in office NOW to save lives,” said Jonathan Gold, gun safety instructor and advocate.