“Knock, knock, knock” we heard at our front door. It was September 24, 2023 at 11pm — a cold, rainy Sunday. As we opened the door, my mom and I saw two law enforcement officers who asked, “Is this the residence of Mr. Adam DeShong?” Right away, we both had a gut feeling that something was wrong. My dad wasn’t home, and he had never come home that late before.
One of the troopers said he had distressing news, so my mom told me to head upstairs. The other officer asked her to sit down.
Up in my room, thoughts stormed through my 16-year-old mind: Was my dad hurt? Was he in the hospital? Did he get in a car accident? From where I was, all I could hear were murmurs, and my mom apologizing for how taken aback she was. Though I didn’t know what was going on, I couldn’t help myself: Tears spilled down my face.
In what was probably a few minutes but felt like forever, my mom stepped into my room. Her eyes were also red and tear-filled. She told me the news: My dad and nana had been shot and killed by my uncle.
Right away, I panicked. My dad and nana were two people I needed, and suddenly, they were taken from me. My parents had been married 21 years — and were looking forward to many more years together. How could it be that in an instant, a man I barely knew, but who’d grown up alongside my dad, destroyed my family as I’d always known it? My nana had spent a lifetime loving her family, and now, her own son killed both her and her other son.
That horrible night took place at the very beginning of my junior year in high school, and it changed my life in a way that will last forever. I knew about gun violence from the news I heard online, but I never, ever imagined it would occur so close to home.
The truth is, my reality is the reality for thousands and thousands of families across our country. The fact that I’m not alone in this situation, however, doesn’t offer me comfort. Instead, it makes me want to fight back.
Americans just like me
Just like me, millions of Americans have lost their loved ones to gun violence, an experience no one should have to endure. It doesn’t need to be this way. This is not a “fact of life.” It’s like a bad movie, playing again and again — and it shouldn’t take having it happen to you to make you care about it.
No matter your politics, you should care about the sheer prevalence of gun violence in our nation. We have all seen the many reports of mass shootings — especially school shootings, like the recent one that took four lives and destroyed countless more in Georgia — daily murders, two failed assassination attempts of former President Trump, plus unintended deaths from acts of violence, not to mention accidental gun deaths. Nearly 50,000 lives lost to guns.
Our homes, schools, and our communities are no place for this amount of violence. Children in elementary, middle, and high schools should not have to ever go to school fearing gun violence. Gun violence is an American epidemic: There should be no question we need to take action.
Gun violence has torn apart our communities in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Today, guns are the leading cause of childhood death in this country, outpacing car accidents or illness. With so many lives lost, I want to again emphasize how crucial it is for us to take action.
Consider this statistic: 58 percent of American adults have been personally affected by or know someone close to them who has been affected by gun violence. Each day, more than 120 people die from gun violence in our country. And that’s just the deaths. Guns injure even more people — 115,000 per year, about 315 every day — in the U.S.
That’s not to say we’re not making some progress: In Philadelphia, deadly gun violence is down 38 percent since 2023. Still, every day, we turn on the news to learn more Philadelphians have been shot — near their homes, waiting for the school bus, at football scrimmages, block parties, on South Street …
Gun violence has torn apart our communities in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Today, guns are the leading cause of childhood death in this country, outpacing car accidents or illness. With so many lives lost, I want to again emphasize how crucial it is for us to take action.
So, what should we do?
What you can do to stop gun violence
We need to change our current system. It is that simple. We need to advocate for the common sense gun laws most Americans agree on — laws like prohibiting the sale of automatic weapons, which have no business in people’s homes, and laws to make it harder for just anyone to get a gun, and laws that regulate gun shows. There are future lives we can still save.
How do you advocate for better gun policies? If you can vote, vote for representatives who support gun restrictions, leaders who will keep the pressure on within state and federal governments. Even if you cannot vote, contact your state and federal representatives to let them know you’re paying attention. Especially make those calls when legislation like universal background checks, red flag laws, or restrictions on assault weapons is being discussed or introduced.
You can join groups that advocate for gun violence awareness like CeaseFire PA or Everytown. Talk to your school boards about the safety measures they are taking to protect their students. Make your voice heard on social media.
There are a multitude of ways to become involved. Find one, a couple, or more, and do them. I cannot bring my father or grandmother back, but together, we can prevent more families from facing the same tragedy.
The Citizen welcomes guest commentary from community members who represent that it is their own work and their own opinion based on true facts that they know firsthand.
MORE SOLUTIONS FOR OUR GUN VIOLENCE CRISIS