Essex County Forming New ‘Anti-Gun Violence Committee’ – Newark, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A new “Anti-Gun Violence Committee” is being formed in Essex County, the board of commissioners announced Monday.

Commissioner At-Large Brendan Gill will chair the committee, which plans to meet with local advocacy groups, lawmakers and others in an effort to “bring forth initiatives that will make a tangible difference with respect to the safety of residents and communities throughout the county.”

According to a news release from the board, that could include:

• “increasing community outreach”
• “conveying the importance of common-sense gun legislation”
• “introduction of impactful legislation at the county level”

The committee will be established by a resolution to be voted on at the next Essex County Commissioner Board Meeting, scheduled for Sept. 14, the board said.

Commissioner President Wayne Richardson said he has high hopes for the new committee.

“If we can leverage our resources at the county level to save one life, it will be well worth the effort,” Richardson said. “It is my hope we can save multiple lives, while providing a blueprint for other county agencies to follow. We must work together to save our communities, and do our best to limit the unnecessary loss of life.”

Gun violence is nothing new to Essex County, Gill said.

“While mass shootings have continued to increase across the nation, we have continued to deal with an increase in gun violence at the local level for many years,” Gill said. “Although there has been recent legislation at the federal and state level aimed at curtailing gun violence, we must continue to aggressively battle this public health crisis, and work diligently to enact common sense gun safety measures at the local level in an effort to keep our communities safe and save as many lives as possible.”

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