One night, Greg Jackson was walking home with his cousins when he was struck by a stray bullet. He almost died, and after multiple surgeries and a long recovery, he was left with more questions than answers.
How did this happen? Where did the gun come from? And most of all, why aren’t we doing more to address gun violence?
What happened to Greg is far too common. In 2023, nearly 43,000 Americans died from gun violence. At an average of 4,000 per year, guns are now the leading cause of death among children. And behind each statistic is a personal tragedy that tears families and communities apart.
After recovering from being shot, Greg became an activist to stop gun violence. He’s gone from sharing his personal story to mentoring youth to now working as Deputy Director in the new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Too often, these types of offices don’t include anyone personally affected by the issue at hand. How many all-male task forces have issued edicts about women’s reproductive freedom? But Biden’s Gun Violence Prevention office isn’t just dedicated to making a real dent in America’s gun violence crisis - it also includes someone whose life has been personally affected by it.
43,000 Americans. 4,000 children. These aren’t just numbers, they’re people. And the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention is working hard to keep anyone else from becoming a statistic.
Getting Ahead of Gun Violence