Photo of Erika C. Collins

I was first affected by gun violence in 1993, when an armed gunman entered the conference room of a San Francisco law firm during a deposition and opened fire. Two people in that conference room were killed, and I knew both of them. One of the individuals who died was a partner at the firm I worked for after law school and the other was a lawyer my age from my home town, and he died shielding his wife from the gunfire. That event made me really think about the impact of gun violence and turned me into a longtime advocate of reasonable gun safety measures.

I attended the Conversation on Gun Safety which Proskauer hosted last week. We were honored to welcome as featured speakers John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety; Eric Tirschwell, Director of Litigation and National Enforcement Policy for Everytown; and Nathalie Arzu, a survivor of gun violence who is now an advocate for gun safety.

The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (Bro/Sis) is a community-based, nonprofit organization located in Harlem that provides after-school and long-term support services to Black and Latino youth from ages eight to 22 in impoverished communities.  Bro/Sis aims to cultivate leadership development and educational achievement, sexual responsibility, drug awareness, political education and social justice, Pan African and Latino history, and global awareness.  Each year Bro/Sis provides direct guidance and support to more than 350 youth.