Ten Years of Faith-Fueled Action to End Gun Violence!

June 2025 Digest

Wear Orange Edition!

In this edition of the Digest:

• National Gun Violence Awareness Days--Wear Orange
• Documentary and Dialogue, sponsored by CU FIPI
• News from the Advocacy Team Including an Update on Firearms Bills in the 2025 Legislative Session

• OGVP Grant Supports a Safe Storage Giveaway Event on June 28

• Guns to Gardens Makes the Local CBS News
• Atwood Institute 
• Get a CFCU Shirt through Bonfire
• Words that Disarm - a new Digest Feature
• CFCU June Calendar

National Gun Violence Awareness Day:  June 6, 2025

Find ways to participate here.

Every day in the U.S., 125 people are shot and killed, and hundreds more are wounded or traumatized. Wear Orange with us on June 6-8, 2025, to honor survivors and build community with those working to end gun violence.

Wear Orange 2025 is about honoring survivors and building community with those working to end gun violence.  It will take place during the 11th National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 6, 2025, and will feature virtual and in-person events across the nation. The goal is to raise awareness about gun violence and honor the nearly 46,000 people who are killed with guns every year.

Colorado Denver Wear Orange Peace March

GRASP (1625 E 35th Ave), Denver

Friday, June 6, 4:00 PM

Honor survivors of gun violence as we march with our community partners from GRASP (1625 E 35th Ave) to The REACH Clinic (2713 Welton St) for National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The march will end at Lawson Park (2300 Welton Street) where there will be free food, music, games & community resources. Bring your family and friends! In addition to marching, fill out the Sign Up Genius link to help set up our table at Lawson Park for when the marchers arrive!

If you attend an event, or have one at your congregation, please take photos to share with CFCU and email them to communications@cfcu-co.org

Sunday, June 22 

6:30-9:00 p.m. MDT 

Central Denver (Sie Film Center) at 2510 E Colfax Ave) 

The University of Colorado Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative (FIPI) is excited to host a screening of The Tennessee 11, a film following a group of individuals who come together from across the political spectrum to find common ground on gun rights and safety. Following the screening, FIPI will facilitate a panel discussion featuring community leaders from varied backgrounds partnering with FIPI and engaging in collaborative firearm injury prevention in Colorado. This non-partisan event will foster respectful and constructive dialogue across diverse viewpoints and highlight success in our state. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to attend and share their perspectives in a spirit of mutual respect. 

Event Schedule 

6:15 PM | Doors Open 

6:30 PM | Welcome Remarks and Film Begins

                       (Run time: 80 minutes; age 13+ recommended) 

8:00 PM | Panel featuring Coloradans committed to working across           perspectives, opinions, and experiences towards a common goal of reducing firearm injury, death, and related harms in our communities 

8:45 PM | Closing Remarks

Net proceeds from ticket sales for this event will go toward the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative Fund. If you cannot attend, or if you want to provide support beyond the ticket price, you can donate directly to FIPI’s work by making a donation on the CU giving site.

News from the Advocacy Team

and the 2025 Legislative Session 

This year’s busy legislative session ended on May 7. Many thanks to the Rapid Response Networks, which play a central role in CFCU’s advocacy work. 

The Advocacy Team worked to support 10 gun violence prevention bills. Four were signed into law by the Governor, five have been sent to him and await his signature, and one was withdrawn by one of the sponsors due to its fiscal note. We opposed two bills, both of which were defeated in their first committee hearings. 

After the legislative session is over, the Governor has 30 days from the day a bill is sent to him to sign or veto it (10 days when the Legislature is in session). If he does neither, the bill automatically becomes a law. The five bills that were sent to the Governor between the beginning and middle of May will soon be coming up against their respective 30-day deadlines. We’ll provide an update once the last deadline has passed.

For information on the 12 bills we worked on, please go to the link below.  

Study Finds that Adults with Firearm Access

Rarely Use their Guns in Self- Defense 

A survey of a nationally representative sample of 8,009 adults in May 2024 conducted by the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers University found that fewer than 1% of the 3,000 respondents with firearm access had used their weapons to defend themselves in the previous year.   Ninety-two percent indicated they had never used their weapons to defend themselves.   

Defensive Firearm Use Is Far Less Common Than Exposure to Gun Violence | Rutgers University

Christie Burton, member of the Advocacy Team died on May 1, 2025.

Sad News:

Christie Burton, a member of the Advocacy Team, passed away suddenly on May 1^st. She was a member of Living Light of Peace Church. Christie was deeply committed to the cause of gun violence prevention and was someone we could always count on to volunteer. She frequently took the lead on bills we were working on and wrote the Rapid Response Network Alert and testified at two legislative hearings for SB25-003, the most controversial GVP bill this session. She did the same for several other bills this year and in previous years. We’ll miss her.

All articles from the Advocacy Team  submitted by Stephanie Greenberg, Congregation Bonai Shalom

Office of Gun Violence Prevention Grant

Received for Safe Storage Giveaway Event on June 28

Longmont United Church of Christ - First Congregational UCC recently secured a $10,000 grant from the Colorado office of Gun Violence Prevention for a Safe Storage Giveaway Event on June 28 from 10:00 am – noon.  (See flyer below) 

The Longmont Gun Violence Reduction Team has a very successful track record distributing gun safes and has written up their tips in this resource.  Better yet—attend the June 28 event to check it out as a possible project for your congregation or contact Ann Noonan at Gvreduction@ucclongmont.org with any questions.

Attend the James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage

Wed- Sat. Sept 24-27, 2025 at the Massanetta Springs Camp & Conference Center in Harrisonburg, VA. 

The James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage is an ecumenical project of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship to equip clergy, lay leaders, and community members for gun violence prevention education and action with their congregations.

Inspired by the late James Atwood, a Presbyterian pastor, avid hunter and lifelong advocate for reasonable gun regulation, the Institute brings together faith-based activists, and regional and national experts to provide hands-on training, skills and game-changing strategies. Each year the Atwood Institute counters an epidemic of gun violence and suffering by nurturing the faith-centered courage and action of congregations committed to saving lives.

This year’s keynote will be Reverend Sharon Risher, whose journey from personal tragedy to inspiring forgiveness and hope has resonated widely—learn more about her remarkable story and work on her website.

Wear Your Support for CFCU!  

Buy a Shirt or Hoodie with our Logo!

A New Feature:

Words that Disarm

We believe that powerful change starts with powerful ideas. Each month, we invite you—CFCU Digest readers, advocates, and change makers—to recommend articles, books, podcasts, or other resources that deepen our collective understanding of gun violence and inspire action.

Read something that moved you?  Something you rely on?  Tell us why it matters.  Your reflections can be featured in an upcoming issue of The Digest.   Please submit your article to communications@cfcu-co.org.  Along with your recommendation, please include a two or three sentence biography.  If we choose to publish your recommendation, we will notify you in advance.

For our inaugural Words that Disarm, we asked David Livingston, Communications Team member, what he counts on for comprehensive, timely, and imminently useful information about gun violence, and he recommends The Trace. 

David Livingston speaking at a CFCU annual meeting in 2023.

This cluster of publications is my go-to resource. Whether or not you’re already subscribing to one of the several publications of The Trace, for the past ten years you have been relying on its staff and contributors for some of the most authoritative data and perspectives on reducing gun violence in America. 

Since its 2015 inception with seed money from Everytown for Gun Safety, The Trace has been relied on by fellow journalists and other publications when reporting nation-wide firearm safety initiatives and statistics, public health imperatives, and effective legislation.

As a subscriber (free, but tax-deductible donations are welcomed), you choose how often you add to your online resources:

• The Bulletin – essential news on gun violence and prevention; arriving Mondays and Wednesdays
• The Weekly Briefing – top stories and must-read reporting; comes Friday mornings
• The Trajectory – published bi-weekly, it features people, policies, and programs; with stories on community-led interventions and legislative efforts.
• The Gun Violence Data Hub – offering resources to newsrooms, researchers, and us, the interested and committed public.

Just this week the May 27, 2025 issue of The Trajectory highlighted the creation of the latest state-level office of gun violence prevention, this one in Delaware, and pointing out that DE is the fifteenth state to establish such an office.  Colorado’s office opened four years ago, the result of the dedicated advocacy work of CFCU and all our partners.

Interested in adding breadth and depth to your understanding and building the foundation for your actions?  I encourage you to turn to:  The Trace

Article submitted by David Livingston, Communications Team member and CFCU past co-chair.

Calendar  for June

• Friday, June 6:  4 p.m. Wear Orange Peace Walk, beginning at GRASP (1625 E 35th Ave, Denver)   See the article in this Digest for more information. 
• Friday, June 6:  6 p.m.  Wear Orange Solidarity Walk beginning at Clement Park.   See the article in this Digest for more information. 
• Tuesday, June 10:   1:30 - 3:30  Executive Committee on Zoom.  For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
• Tuesday, June 17:  3 - 5 p.m.   Steering Committee Meeting on Zoom.  For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
  
• Thursday, June 19 , 9 AM - 10 AM.  Communications Meeting on Zoom.  For more information please contact Daryl Foelske (dfoelske@gmail.com)
• Wednesday, June 25 from 10:00 - 11:30 AM:  Public Health Strategies Meeting on Zoom.   For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)

• Wednesday June 25, 2:00 PM.  Advocacy Team Meeting on Zoom. For more information or to join the meeting, please contact Stephanie at advocacy@cfcu-co.org.

• Sunday, August 24:  Northern Regional Meeting.  Time and location to be announced.   Please contact Cheryl Fleetwood (membership@cfcu-co.org) for more information.

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