Pennsylvania Advocacy Day 2023

On March 23, 2023, Squirrel Hill Stands joined members of CeaseFirePA and March for Our Lives for an advocacy day in Harrisburg. We met with our elected representatives and joined a gun safety rally with gun safety legislators and advocates. We heard moving presentations from many legislators, including newly elected State Representative Arvin Venkat, an emergency room physician who spoke powerfully on the issue. We also heard from Rep. Tim Briggs, the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Governor Shapiro and many others. Following the rally, we observed the first real hearings on gun violence in many years. A truly worthwhile day.

Electoral Kickoff 2022

On Monday, August 29, Squirrel Hill Stands kicked off a season of electoral action. Because - to get good gun legislation, we need to elect good gun legislators. Eve Wider kicked off the event with a slide show of the events we have held over the summer. We then heard from Lara Putnam, a noted historian and democracy expert, on the importance of the upcoming November 8 election and some important points about the electorate. Mandy Steele, a gun safety advocate running for election in PA House District 33 talked to us about her race and what she hopes to bring to Harrisburg. Mandy's district is one of the districts it will be essential for gun safety advocates to win if we hope to move gun legislation in the upcoming legislative session. The GREAT NEWS is that due to redistricting, this seat is winnable. Plus it's an open seat (no incumbent), improving our chances further. Dana Kellerman then talked about which races Squirrel Hill Stands will be working on most heavily and shared opportunities to get involved.

The races we are going to be working the hardest on are

1. Mandy Steele - State House representative candidate in HD-33

2. Arvin Venkat - State House Representative candidate in HD-30

3. Chris Deluzio - Candidate for Congress in PA-17

4. State Senator Lindsey Williams - Running for re-election in SD-38

We have a great group of gun safety advocates to support. So let's get busy.

Hover over the TAKE ACTION button at the top of the page to find out how.

Squirrel Hill Stands at Juneteenth

On June 18 we joined our partner organization CeaseFirePA to march in solidarity with our Black friends and neighbors, from the Hill District to Downtown in the Juneteenth parade. Turnout was fantastic and we met lots of folks also concerned about gun violence. We called attention to the marked racial disparity in the toll that gun violence takes on communities. And while we have a very long way to go, we also celebrated how far we have all come. After all, Juneteenth, Emancipation Day, celebrates June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers brought news of slavery's end to Galveston, Texas,