JACL Saddened by School Shooting in Nashville

March 29, 2023

For Immediate Release

Seia Watanabe, VP Public Affairs, swatanabe@jacl.org

Matthew Weisbly, Education & Communications Coordinator, mweisbly@jacl.org

JACL is deeply saddened by the shooting on Monday, March 27 at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee which took the lives of three students and three adults. This is already the 130th mass shooting this year alone, coming in the aftermath of several other high-profile mass shootings this year. This week was also the two-year anniversary of the Atlanta shooting which claimed eight lives. It is another sad and stark reminder that no one is safe from gun violence. We once again join another community in mourning those lost in yet another act of violence. 

While the investigation is ongoing, we know that at least one semi-automatic weapon was used to carry out this heinous act. We should not and can not sit idly by as the gun deaths, especially in mass shooting events, continue to set new record numbers. For the past two years now, firearms have been the leading cause of death among children and adolescents according to CDC data.

We join President Biden and others who continue to call upon Congress to take action now to ensure another mass shooting like this one, the 129 others this year, and the hundreds of others that have plagued our country in the last three years alone, never happen again. Simple actions such as an assault weapon ban and the elimination of high-capacity magazines can have a significant impact on reducing the number of mass casualty gun violence incidents. Congress must act now.

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The Japanese American Citizens League is a national organization whose ongoing mission is to secure and maintain the civil rights of Japanese Americans and all others who are victimized by injustice and bigotry. The leaders and members of the JACL also work to promote cultural, educational, and social values and preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American community.