Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Respond to Shooting and Killing of Ron Gee, Indianapolis Anti-Violence Advocate and Founder of Cease Fire Indy

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statement in response to a shooting on the east side of Indianapolis on Thursday, that resulted in the shooting and killing of anti-violence advocate and founder of Cease Fire Indy, Ron Gee.

“Every innocent life stolen by gun violence is deeply painful, but especially when it is someone whose entire life’s work was to stop the gun fire,” said Alexa Griffith, a volunteer with the Indiana chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Our hearts are with the family and community who are yet again feeling the weight of the gun violence crisis plaguing Indy. We are reminded of the importance of our work and put our heads down today and grind to honor Ron’s legacy.”

Just weeks ago, Indianapolis saw its 100th homicide this year. While there is no one solution to end gun violence, community violence intervention programs play a key role in making cities safer. City leaders, local groups, and residents are driving solutions to reduce gun violence and increase safety in their communities through these programs, and leaders and legislators must invest in these evidence-based interventions to address the root causes of gun violence. 

Indiana has one of the higher rates of gun homicides in the country—a rate that increased since 2013. While Indiana was a pioneer with its Extreme Risk law, which was one of the first in the nation, it lacks all other foundational laws and recently repealed its concealed carry permitting requirement. The state has some of the weakest gun laws in the country – ranking 30th in the country for gun law strength in Everytown’s 2024 Gun Law Rankings. This year, Indiana lawmakers passed a bill to expand upon federal law’s broad immunity for the gun industry and limit the ability of localities to bring suit against bad actors in the gun industry. This measure allows only the state of Indiana to bring suits on behalf of local governments for irresponsible actions of industry members – limiting local authority. 

In an average year, 1,111 people die by guns in Indiana and another 1,556 are wounded. 40% of gun deaths in Indiana are by firearm homicide. More information about firearm deaths in Indiana can be found here.