Greetings colleagues,

Like many of you, I watched the Super Bowl on Sunday and celebrated the victory of the Kansas City Chiefs. Like all of you, I believe that something like a victory parade should be a source of joy and a time of celebration.

Tragically, that was not the case yesterday, when shots rang out in front of Union Station in Kansas City just before 2pm yesterday as Kansas City celebrated. Twenty-two people were shot, nine of them children, and one woman has died (as of this morning’s news).

Instead of celebrating, I found myself grieving for a city that I love. To be honest with you, I am still reeling.

Gun violence is an unacceptable and preventable pandemic in our nation. Guns have been the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States since 2020. Most completed suicides are gun deaths. NASW supports reasonable, rational changes to gun laws. (https://www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/Social-Justice/Gun-Violence)

Here in Missouri, NASW-MO has supported changes to gun laws through legislation that moved last year, including Blair’s Law (explained below), which passed Missouri’s legislature in 2023 but was not signed into law. We are actively supporting it again this year.

We recognize it is a small step, but it is a practical and possible one we have used to build relationships with legislators, to start conversations, and to begin to move the needle on an issue complicated by Missouri’s gun culture.

There are organizations taking a strong lead on gun violence, and we encourage you to connect with and support them, see below. If you feel moved to work further on legislative action in the wake of the Kansas City shooting, please consider actively opposing HB 1708 (explained below).

If you want to work alongside NASW-MO in supporting Blair’s Law, please join us on LEAD Day or reach out to your legislators (find them here: https://house.mo.gov/ by filling in your address in the “Find Your Representative” box).



Finally, when supporting your clients, family, and friends, see the resources below on responding to violence and mass shootings.

In solidarity,

Cassie E. Brown, MSW, LCSW 

Pronouns: she/her/hers 

Executive Director, Missouri Chapter 

National Association of Social Workers 

[email protected] 

Office 573-635-6965

ORGANIZATIONS OPPOSING GUN VIOLENCE IN MISSOURI

• Moms Demand Action-MO (https://www.facebook.com/MomsDemandActionMO/). 

LEGISLATIVE ACTION YOU CAN TAKE

• SUPPORT Blair's Law (HB 1477) which specifically criminalizes the reckless discharge of a firearm in municipal limits. This has been filed for many years in response to the killing of an 11-year-old in Kansas City by celebratory gunfire in 2011. It was passed by the Legislature last year but vetoed due to unrelated provisions in the bill.

• OPPOSE HB 1708, sponsored by Representative Adam Schnelting (R-St. Charles). This is a wide-ranging bill to expand firearms access that is currently on the House Informal Perfection Calendar. Among other provisions, this bill allows a concealed carry permit holder to lawfully carry firearms on most forms of public transportation. It also removes the statutory prohibition on concealed carry in a place of worship without permission and lowers the age for concealed carry permits from 19 to 18.

RESOURCES FOR RESPONDING TO GUN VIOLENCE

• Incidents of Mass Violence: Find disaster-related resources from SAMHSA.



• Talking to Children About Tragedies and Other News Events: The American Academy of Pediatrics helps adults to filter information and to present it in a way that children can process.

• Helping Children with Tragic Events in the News: Television news can be confusing for a young child. PBS Kids offers ways for adults to minimize children's stress. 

NASW, Missouri Chapter

naswmo.socialworkers.org