Gov. Josh Shapiro took to the road to spread the message that reducing gun violence is a priority for the state and his administration.
The governor’s proposed 2024-25 budget invests $100 million to reduce gun violence. Built into that is a $37.5 million increase for the Violence Intervention and Prevention program through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
“Gov. Shapiro’s violence intervention and prevention funding has really made a crucial difference for our youth and our young adults,” Kensington Soccer Club founder Jim Hardy said. “This funding enables us to reach so many more than we used to and have a much bigger impact on each person. We’re teaching conflict resolution skills, connecting them with careers and connecting them with education, helping them navigate that transition from high school to adulthood, building them up as leaders who serve a community with empathy and help guide the next generation.”
The governor has called on the General Assembly to strengthen Pennsylvania’s laws and pass significant gun reform legislation.
Already, the Pennsylvania House passed a bipartisan package of bills to enact universal background checks and legislation that ban ghost guns. Shapiro is building a coalition to support what he believes is commonsense gun safety reform to protect communities all across the state.
Shapiro’s visits to Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre are part of a continuing effort to make gun violence rarer in the state.
“I’ve seen firsthand the benefits this program has had on kids,” Kensington Soccer parent Felicia Bryant-Dawson said. “It’s my belief that for a community to be able to grow and flourish and impact things like preventing violence, these are the types of initiatives that need to be supported, so that all families and all children can have these kinds of resources.”
