LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS FIREARMS STUDY
Part one of a two part Everyday Nonviolence series addressing gun violence in Minnesota

Mary Lewis Grow and Martha (Marti) Micks speak with Host Jarren Peterson Dean about their work as co-chairs on Minnesota's League of Women Voters' (LWVMN) recent study on Firearms. In 1990 LWVMN adopted its first position paper on the issue and is now finalizing an updated version. Our guests share LWVMN's analysis of firearms in Minnesota and discuss what can be done at the legislative level to address the gun violence epidemic in our state.

Listen in to gain a deeper understanding of LWVMN's firearms policy recommendations which include:

• Instituting red flag laws
• Banning assault weapons
• Requiring universal background checks
• Defining ghost guns and 3D printed weapons as firearms
• Funding community based gun violence intervention and prevention programs
• State licensing of firearm dealers
• Funding firearms violence research
• Opposing stand your ground laws 

This episode was hosted by Jarren Peterson Dean and produced by Charlotte Sebastian, with audio engineering by Hugo Rejas. 

Mary Lewis Grow has been involved in the issue of gun violence for many years including roles as: Founder and National Director of the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence; Board Member Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; Board Member and Co-founder of Citizens for a Safer Minnesota (now Protect Minnesota); and Co-author of MN League of Women Voters publication, Facts and Issues: The Sale, Use, and Possession of Firearms in Minnesota,1990. She taught at Smith College, St. Olaf, and Tufts University and served as Associate Director of the Career Center at Carleton College.

Marti Micks has been a social studies teacher with the Osseo School District and  served eight years on the Golden Valley City Council, and the Housing & Redevelopment Authority. She also worked as a civilian management analyst for the U.S. Army in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. A League member since 1976, Micks was president of LWVMN (2018-2019) and is currently president of LWV Golden Valley, Secretary of the Council of Metropolitan Area Leagues. 

Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP)

• Our total in-person & virtual workshop graduates:
  • 63 Basic Level, 34 Advanced Level, and 15 Facilitators! 
• We successfully developed an AVP facilitation team at the Eagle’s Healing Nest, where we held 6 in-person AVP workshops! 

Everyday Nonviolence Podcast

• 6 new episodes, which have been downloaded over 600 times

• Feedspot lists FNVW's Everyday Nonviolence Podcast as the #1 Nonviolence Podcast ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.

Volunteer Engagement

• 2022 saw 7,958.5 hours of recorded volunteer time!
• Over 315 people participated in FNVW events and trainings over the course of the year (not including AVP workshop participants).
• We welcomed a total of 7 Interns and Community Engaged Learning Students into FNVW's work!

50th Year of People Camp!

• Attendance was the best since 2015 with 78 campers–including 24 youth!

Melvin Giles

Melvin Giles is the co-facilitator of the St. Paul-based Urban Farm and Garden Alliance and Community Engagement Weaver with Renewing the Countryside where he works to heal and uplift communities through agriculture. A veteran peace, diversity, and dismantling racism educator; Melvin has 40+ years’ experience working with youth, academia, government, nonprofits, farmers and neighborhoods throughout the US, South Korea, Southern Africa, and Oaxaca, Mexico. He is known for blowing Peace Bubbles and encouraging bubbles instead of bullets.

Melvin Giles

Cindy Robinson

Cindy Robinson

Cindy Robinson is a retired pharmacist and a textile artist. She and her husband raised four children and have seven quirky grandchildren that they visit whenever they get the chance. She loves singing harmony and is currently studying the mandolin. Cindy is also an Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshop facilitator and AVP Inside Out Newsletter Editor with FNVW. 

Brucie Hawkins

Brucie served as FNVW's intrepid Board Clerk during 2019 and the tumultuous year of 2020, graciously taking on the position of Interim Executive Director for four months during her tenure. She continued serving as a Board Member at Large in 2021 and 2022. 

We are so grateful for Brucie's service on the Board and the continued leadership she provides as an active member of the Alternatives to Violence Project team.  

Brucie Hawkins

Charlie Caven was featured in a Star Tribune article!

Charlie was a Community Engaged Learning Student volunteer who helped us through the month of January, where he analyzed our 2022 AVP workshop participant evaluations and supported donor engagement efforts.

Katy Read's Volunteer Challenge article, “Many motives but one mission: Ultimately, volunteers look to help others" can be found here: 

With the success of our AVP mini-session at the Changemakers Alliance Bodily Autonomy Event in March, the MN Women's Press has invited us to lead an AVP mini-session at each of the conversations on preventing Gender Based Violence that they're organizing across the state of MN in the months ahead! 

Watch this three minute recap of the March 25th event: https://youtu.be/Hv6n1CtpebU

Join FNVW as we participate in the fun, family friendly Earth Day clean-up and tabling event in our neighborhood! Lunch is provided.

April 22, 2023
Earth Day Community Clean-Up and Celebration
9 am - 1 pm 
@ Central Village Park
457 Central Ave W, St Paul, MN 55103, USA (map)

Volunteers are needed: help set up, tear down, table, or just participate in the cleanup. SUPC is coordinating the cleanup.