The GVP Group challenges and works to change our society’s ever-increasing culture of violence through education, discussion, advocacy, and action.
Participants work together for change through committees they form. The GVP Group cooperates with state and national gun violence prevention groups. All residents are encouraged to join this group. GVP Group is a moderated email discussion group.
Join the GVP Group by sending a blank email to GVP+subscribe@groups.io. To confirm your subscription, just reply as instructed in an email that you will receive. If the subscription procedure fails, seek help by emailing Bob Tiller. His contact information is in the Riderwood Resident Directory, available online at My Erickson or on paper from your front desk. Group leaders may also be contacted through this address. Send messages to the whole GVP Group by email to GVP@groups.io.
Current Activities You Can Join
On the 14th of Each Month
Monthly NRA Vigil
On the 14th of each month at 10a.m. there is a one-hour protest vigil at NRA Headquarters in Northern Virginia. Several Riderwooders attend to stand with others as a protest against the pervasive presence of guns in American society, and the inevitable gun violence that guns bring us. Signs are provided to everyone and there is easy street parking. Bring a folding chair if you desire. Bob Tiller arranges carpools from Riderwood. His contact information is in the Riderwood Resident Directory, available online at My Erickson or on paper from your front desk.
It is on the 14th of the month because it began right after the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre on December14, 2012, where 26 people were killed, including 20 young children. The vigils have occurred every month since that tragedy. When the 14th is on a Sunday, the vigil begins at 2:00 pm.
Monthly Dinner Vigil
Many other Riderwooders share concern about gun violence but are unable to go to the NRA building, so they wear orange to dinner on the 14th of every month. You are cordially invited to wear something orange –your Gun Violence Prevention tee shirt, any orange shirt, an orange scarf or hat or ribbon in participation and solidarity with those who are striving for gun violence prevention.
Join the Education Committee
This committee plans relevant education events for Riderwood residents and is always open to new and informative ideas. Bring your time and energy to informing the Riderwood Community about Gun Violence Prevention issues in our community, state and nation. This committee is chaired by Pat Moskof. Contact her through the Riderwood Resident Directory either online or at the front desk.
Success in 2024
Surgeon General Names Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis
On June 25, the US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, declared gun violence a public health crisis, calling on Americans to confront it with the same urgency that cut deaths from tobacco use and road traffic crashes. This is the first time that a US surgeon general has declared gun violence a public health crisis.
Gun Violence Prevention Tee Shirts
In June, 2024, we designed, sold and delivered 114 beautiful Gun Violence Prevention—Lives Depend On It orange tee shirts. One was given to Congressman Ivey, our U.S. Representative, who came to take part in our Wear Orange Time to Remember, Mourn and Honor. It was presented to him as a special thank you for being with us.
WEAR ORANGE WEEKEND & NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY: June 7-9
We gathered in the Encore Theater on June 8 to remember, honor, and mourn those killed by gun violence, and their grieving families and friends. We also acknowledged our own sense of loss and grief over these terrible tragedies. Representative Glen Ivey, from our U. S. House of Representatives, was our Guest Speaker. We honored the personal stories of survivors. and heard about our successes this year, in both Maryland State Legislation and in National Legislation.
We invited all Riderwood residents and guests to Wear Orange to Dinner on June 7, 8 and 9, We wore our new GVP tee shirts, other orange shirts, scarves, hats, ribbons … any orange … to remember those killed and their grieving survivors.
Education Events
Dec 4, 2024: “Understanding the Crisis: Gun Violence and the Road Ahead in Maryland”
We were privileged to have two excellent speakers:
–Karen Herren, the executive director of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence
–Joanna Pearl, the Maryland legislative lead for Moms Demand Action
Our speakers shared information about new proposals in the upcoming 2025 Maryland legislative session and how we can help get good gun laws passed in 2025 and beyond.
April,3, 2024: Joshua Horwitz, Dana Feitler Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Gun Violence Prevention and Advocacy in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University shared with us on April 3 in the Encore Theater. He used his years of research to enable us to understand how advocacy works and how to join in the effort nationally and in our state.
Legislative Success in 2024
The Federal Gun Industry Accountability Act of 2024 challenges the firearm industry’s blanket immunity by creating pathways to justice in cases involving harm caused to the public. The Biden Administration finalized a new rule that will require background checks for nearly all gun sales. It will require unlicensed gun sellers to become federally licensed firearms dealers and to perform background checks prior to all sales.
This closes the “gun show loophole” & the “online sale loophole” in the federal system that have been exploited for decades by unscrupulous gun sellers. This new rule is a direct outgrowth of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, enacted in 2022, and is one of the most consequential actions to prevent gun violence by any administration in our nation’s history. It comes just one week after a new report revealed that 40% of all gun trafficking cases involve unlicensed gun dealers.
New 2024 Maryland Laws include:
GUN INDUSTRY ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2024:
Federal law prohibits civil lawsuits against firearm manufacturers and dealers,
even when their egregious actions lead to violence or crimes. However, an
exception in that law permits civil lawsuits if state laws and regulations are
violated. In 2024 the Maryland General Assembly passed – and Governor Moore
signed – a new law, known as the Gun Industry Accountability Act, which enables
our state Attorney General and county attorneys to initiate legal proceedings
against gun industry members for their unlawful or unreasonable actions. Gun
companies now must put safeguards in place regarding manufacture, marketing,
sale, importation and distribution of firearms, to prevent their guns from ending up
in the wrong hands or otherwise causing public harm.
The MARYLAND CENTER FOR FIREARM PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION was proposed by Governor Moore and passed by the 2024 MD Legislature. The Center will focus on a data-driven public health approach to prevent gun violence, designed to work with local governments, hospitals and community-based violence intervention programs. It is housed in the MD Dept of Public Health.
The Active Shooter Safety Drills or Trainings establishes guidelines for school active shooter drills based on identified best practices.
The Victim Compensation Reform act of 2024 includes numerous changes to statutory provisions regarding victim compensation awarded through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB).
Success in 2023
Education Event
Maryland Senator Will Smith came to Riderwood for our first and very successful Education event. He spoke to over 170 RW residents and visitors in Encore Theater about the newly passed gun violence prevention laws that our state legislature and governor passed this year. He shared the process and how residents like us, made an impact on the good outcome, that makes Maryland the eighth gun safest state in our country.
He concluded with questions from the audience on projections for new gun violence prevention laws that are likely to be part of the 2024 Maryland legislative session which begins on January 10, 2024. He also encouraged all of the audience to continue our advocacy by e-mailing, calling, writing and testifying to our individual legislators and to groups of legislators. It was a good evening of learning and sharing.
Wear Orange Weekend
On June 2, 3 and 4, 2023, for the first time at Riderwood, we had a Time to Remember and Honor all of those who have been killed by gun violence throughout our land. We honored those killed in Mass Murders and Murders, those killed through Suicide, those killed in Accidental Deaths, and those killed by Domestic Violence. Click here RIDERWOOD WEAR ORANGE EVENT 6-2-23 to read the script for this ceremony. This was attended by over 120 people gathering together outside of our Wellness Center. It was to honor, but also to rededicate ourselves to the ongoing work of gun violence prevention.
We continued this remembering and honoring for three days by many people wearing orange to the dining rooms. It was good to see this honoring happening in such a visual form.
In this way we took part in the National Wear Orange Weekend that happens across the United States. We wear orange because it is the color hunters use to protect themselves. We want to protect ourselves and everyone else from being shot. If you want to know how this Wear Orange Weekend was started, please click here. It is a very sad but lovely story.
We are grateful to our hard working Wear Orange Committee: Mim Ostenso, Carlotta Watkins, Marlene Dunsmore, Bob Tiller, Pat Moskof, Elaine Tiller and Phyllis Nash, as well as to our photographer, Bill Henderson.
Legislative Success
Other Successes in 2023 were Legislative. The great new laws passed in Maryland were worked on by our GVP Legislative Committee enlisting all of us to take part. These new laws include:
- A well crafted response to the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision: banning guns in specifically-identified places where the public congregates, including health care facilities, museums, amusement parks, stadiums, colleges, casinos, polling places, governmental buildings and places where alcohol or cannabis is sold for on-site consumption.
- Establishing that a private property owner must give express permission before guns can be carried onto that property. The presumption in state law will now be that guns are not permitted on private property unless permission has been granted.
- Eliminating the open carry of guns in public places where handguns are permitted. A legally-carried gun must now be concealed in any public setting.
- A requirement for safe and secure storage of guns in any location, including a home where a child under the age of 18 might be able to access them. Known as “Jaelynn’s Law”, this is a response to a murder committed five years ago when a teenager took his parent’s gun that was not securely stored, and shot his girlfriend, Jaelynn.
- Creating education programs around both safe storage of guns and youth suicide prevention.
- Tightening the process for issuing gun permits (which is done by the state police), so that permits will be denied to anyone who has demonstrated a propensity for violence.
- Raising the age for obtaining a concealed carry permit from l8 to 21.
- Requiring the state police to collect data on all firearms that have been surrendered as part of protective orders issued by courts (something not done systematically until now).
Hugh thanks and kudos to House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson for placing a high priority on getting these measures passed, as well as to the delegates and state senators who put in long hours in crafting strong and comprehensive bills. Kudos to Governor Wes Moore who happily signed all of them at a special celebratory ceremony.
Opponents of the new statues immediately initiated legal proceedings, with the goal of getting most or all of them declared unconstitutional. We need to continue our hard legislative work.
Please join the Gun Violence Prevention Group of RW and help create more success. You can make a difference. We need your ideas and support on committees and activities.
Additional Opportunities for Involvement
GVP Steering Committee
The GVP steering committee decides on the priorities and order of business of the GVP Group and manages the general course of its operations. The committee interacts with Riderwood staff on behalf of the GVP. Contact Bob Tiller to volunteer. His contact information can be found in the Riderwood Resident Directory either at the front desk or online.
Wear Orange Weekend 2025 Committee
Join this committee to plan, organize and execute a community wide Wear Orange event. It will be held the first weekend of June, 2025, and is a time of honoring those killed through gun violence in our nation. To volunteer contact Carlotta Watkins. Her contact information can be found in the Riderwood Resident Directory either at the front desk or online.
State Legislative Committee
The GVP State Legislative Committee focuses on our state legislature, which is in session from mid-January to mid-April. During the fall we continue to meet with our legislators to influence the Maryland legislative goals for 2025 session. Possible legislative goals for 2025 are banning Assault Weapons in Maryland and ways to hold the gun industry accountable for the violence. For more information contact Yale Stenzler. His contact information can be found in the Riderwood Resident Directory either at the front desk or online.
Gun Violence Prevention Designer License Plate Committee
Help create a committee to research and then work to get a designer license plate for the state of Maryland. This would include designing the plate itself and going through the state process to get it approved. This is a good time to work on this in Maryland because we have sympathetic legislators and governor who are likely to support us. Virginia has a designer plate for gvp and would help us know the process they did. Contact Elaine Tiller if you have an interest. Her contact information can be found in the Riderwood Resident Director either at the front desk or online.
We welcome your ideas and help to develop new activities or to work on the above. If you have something that you want to work on to prevent gun violence please contact us.
Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy Groups
Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence
The mission of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence (mdpgv.org) is to reduce gun violence through policy development, empowerment through strategic education, and advocacy at the community and legislative levels. Our advocacy addresses gun violence in all forms, homicide, suicide, murder, mass murders, domestic abuse killings, and daily shootings. We work with the Maryland legislature to draft, pass and implement gun violence solutions. We fight the corporate gun lobby and work to defeat dangerous legislation proposed by gun rights extremists. We use various tools to educate the public and legislature on gun violence prevention. Our website contains information on legislative activities.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Moms Demand Action (momsdemandaction.org) is an important grassroots activist organization formed by stay-at-home mom Shannon Watts following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.
Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety (www.everytown.org) is an umbrella organization coordinating the activities of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
Sandy Hook Promise
Our mission is to educate and empower youth, children and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes and communities. We have programs for anonymous reporting when you have concerns about others or self, programs to enable kids to befriend other kids who are lonely and left out. These programs can happen in your local school with your help. sandyhookpromise.org
The Brady Campaign
The Brady Campaign (bradyunited.org) works to pass and enforce federal and state gun laws, regulations, and public policies through grassroots activism, electing public officials who support gun control legislation, and increasing public awareness of gun violence.
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
The research is clear: gun laws work to save lives. The nation’s courts agree: gun law are fully compatible with the second amendment. And the American people have spoken: our weak gun safety laws are killing nearly 40,000 Americans every year. Things must change. Gun laws save lives.
Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy
Our goal is to bring public health expertise and perspectives to the complex policy issues related to gun violence prevention. We research gun violence prevention in order to support those who are doing advocacy work.
Riderwood Legislators
Corresponding with Your Legislators
The most important step that you can take to reduce gun violence is urging your state legislators to support specific bills by name or number. In Maryland each state legislative district sends one senator and three delegates to Annapolis. Riderwood is split between two districts, exactly along the county line. If you live in the Montgomery County portion of Riderwood, you are in District 14, and if you live in the Prince George’s portion of Riderwood, you are in District 21.
Below is the contact information for all state legislators representing Riderwood.
Montgomery County portion of Riderwood:
Sen. Craig J. Zucker (D), District 14
(410) 841-3625, (301) 858-3625
e-mail: craig.zucker@senate.state.md.us
Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D), District 14
(410) 841-3036, (301) 858-3036
e-mail: anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us
Del. Bernice Mireku-North (D), District 14
(410) 841-3539, (301) 858-3539
e-mail: bernice.mireku-north@house.state.md.us
Del. Pamela E. Queen (D), District 14
(410) 841-3380, (301) 858-3380
e-mail: pam.queen@house.state.md.us
Prince George County portion of Riderwood:
Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D), District 21
(410) 841-3141, (301) 858-3141
e-mail: jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us
Del. Benjamin S. Barnes (D), District 21
(410) 841-3046, (301) 858-3046
e-mail: ben.barnes@house.state.md.us
Del. Mary A. Lehman (D), District 21
(410) 841-3114, (301) 858-3114
e-mail: mary.lehman@house.state.md.us
Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D), District 21
(410) 841-3502, (301) 858-3502
e-mail: joseline.pena.melnyk@house.state.md.us
You may wish to express your views to Governor Wes Moore as well. The most effective vehicle for getting a message to him is to use his web-based communication option. Click here.
Some folks have requested suggestions on how to make your voice heard with legislators. Here are some ideas. Follow the concepts of basic communication: be polite, be succinct, use your own words, and be clear in what you are urging them to do. Cite the specific bill that you are interested in (by number, if you have it), and state a clear ask. Mention that you are a constituent, because that prods them to pay attention. If you have a personal story, e.g. the impact of gun violence on your life, you can certainly include it, but be concise. If two spouses are both sending a communication, do it separately rather than together (and use separate e-mail addresses). You may use ideas and concepts
borrowed from others, but try not to copy the exact language of others; if you use the same words that someone else uses, you run the risk of diminishing your impact.
The most effective communication tool is e-mail, but telephone is also an option. An e-mail is fast, and you can be very precise. Be sure to send a separate e-mail to each elected official, not a group e-mail. If you telephone, leaving a voicemail is acceptable, but not as effective as e-mail. Generally it is most useful and appropriate to contact the delegates and senator who represent you, not those from a different district. After a vote is taken, please contact your senator and/or delegates with a thank-you if they voted the way you requested – this helps strengthen your communication channel for the future.
Other advocacy steps that may interest you: (1) Have a face-to-face meeting with a senator or delegate, either here or in Annapolis. This may be challenging to arrange, but such a meeting can yield terrific results, and may also lead to additional contacts and conversations. (2) Provide testimony, written or oral, to a public hearing by a legislative committee on a bill. Legislators from both chambers often read the hearing record prior to voting on a bill. (3) Write a letter to the editor of a Maryland-based newspaper. One final point: signing petitions, whether online or in-person, has very little impact.
Alarming Statistics on Gun Violence
- Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States, surpassing deaths from motor vehicles, disease, and all other injuries.
- Gun deaths in the America have steeply risen now topping over 40,000 per year. The ten year increase is an astonishing 43%.
- Over half of all suicides in the United States involve guns, and over half of all deaths are suicides.
- Since the beginning of the 21st century, more than 2 million people have been shot in America, and more than one-third of all of those have died.
- About 80% of all murders in our nation involve a gun.
- To drive a car in our country a person must go through testing and licensing, but to own a gun in many states, you can to to a store and buy one.
- A woman is five times more likely to be murdered when her abuser has access to a gun. Every month 70 women are fatally shot by an abusive partner.
- Three million children are exposed to gun violence annually, resulting in long term trauma and suffering.
- An average of 8 children are unintentionally shot everyday with improperly stored firearms.
- The states with the lowest gun death rates are generally those with the strongest gun laws. Those states with the highest gun deaths are generally those with the weakest laws.
- Pick any multi-decade period in the last century–such as the previous 40 years or the last 80 years–and the numbers show that more Americans have died from guns here on our soil than have died in wars during the same period.
- The annual number of gun death in the U.S is about the same as breast cancer deaths. Deep concern over the tragedy of breast cancer has led to intense scientific research, public awareness campaigns, numerous fundraising events, public art, and even a postage stamp. Where is the comparable concern about the tragedy of gun deaths? Where is the urgency to reduce gun violence? When will we and our leaders make the same commitment to end gun violence that has been made to end breast cancer?