Advocates in Harrisburg today were focused on gun violence prevention, and what the state can do to keep violent trends going down.

“In the last two years, gun deaths are down 38% statewide, saving hundreds of lives,” Adam Garber said, executive director of CeaseFire PA, who organized today’s advocacy. 

Hundreds of Pennsylvanians came to the capitol, speaking with lawmakers and rallying on the capitol steps.

The group says they support Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal of a $20 million increase to the state's Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) program, which invests in community groups.

“What we’re doing is working,” Krista Brands said, CEO of the Pennsylvania division of the American Trauma Society.

“It cannot just be us right here, it has to be everybody. This is an epidemic, and it’s killing us,” Larry Harris said, an outreach worker with South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace. Harris spends most of his times in schools and with youth, mentoring and teaching them about life. “We're trying to be the light for our children, to show them an example what men really are.”

On legislation, the group is advocating for things like universal background checks and a ghost gun ban.

They also raise awareness on firearm suicides.

In 2023, Pennsylvania had 1,807 gun deaths. Nearly 60% of those- 1,077- were suicide deaths.

“We are seeing an uptick in EMS suicides,” Brands said, “We are also seeing an uptick of pre-teen suicides and teen suicides."

From 2018 to 2023, there were 44 of Pennsylvania’s rural counties that had 80% of gun deaths as firearm suicides.

“Because of the stigma and shame and silence around suicide,” Dr. Jay Breneman said, director of firearm suicide prevention policy with CeaseFire PA, "and because of the discomfort many people have or the heightened tension around talking about firearms… we just are not having these conversations.”

Breneman says gun rights don’t have to get pulled into these conversations, but rather its just more important to be aware of what’s happenings in communities.

While some legislative solutions exist, he says there is a big research point people need to know; time and space.

“Whatever the personal of life struggles someone is facing, it takes time to process those things,” Breneman says. “In the meantime, they could experience a rather rapid onset of suicidal thoughts. If a loaded firearm is readily available, there's virtually no time available for them to give it a second thought.”

When someone has suicidal ideation, the more time and space they have from methods to end their life, the better their chance of not taking action.

Breneman also stresses that society must continually debunk myths about suicide prevention.

“Myth #1, that you can’t stop them,” Breneman said. "That if they’ve decided to die by suicide, then there’s nothing you can do. That is for the large part false. People do change their mind."