Members of the University of Colorado Boulder’s chapter of Students Demand Action on Jan. 28, 2025. (Camryn Montgomery/CU Independent)
Since 2020, firearms have been the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1-17. In 2022, more than 48,000 firearm deaths took place in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. With this trend continuing over the past several years, many nonprofits have organized and mobilized students across the country to join in the fight to prevent gun violence.
Students Demand Action is a national movement of high school and college students belonging to one of the largest gun violence prevention organizations in the country, Everytown for Gun Safety. SDA is dedicated to preventing gun violence through grassroots organizing, advocating for legislation, educating and mobilizing at a local level.
The University of Colorado Boulder’s chapter of SDA largely separated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was recently revamped by Alexander Cisneros, a freshman studying political science.
Cisneros said that many students share a common misconception of what firearm violence looks like: mass shootings in public places. However, he also said that this is not the only way firearm violence presents itself, and there is a lot more to be done at the local community level for gun violence prevention.
Last fall, as Cisneros was in the process of getting the club reestablished, his main goal was educating members about the issue and possible misconceptions and solutions toward gun violence prevention. This semester as president of SDA, he hopes to spread this information to the entire community at CU Boulder.
“We just want people to be educated on firearms because we’re going to be the next firearm owners,” said Issac Sotelo, a member of SDA. “We’re the people that have to sit through gun violence in the communities and in our schools.”
Education is just one of SDA’s goals for firearm violence prevention. Cisneros and SDA are also pushing for more mental health support systems, easier and more acceptable safe storage options and statewide legislation.
Last semester, CU Boulder’s SDA Chapter met with Boulder City Councilman Matt Benjamin to learn what the Boulder City Council is doing to encourage firearm violence prevention. Cisneros said they also discussed other ways for the club to get involved with the city council to further advance prevention initiatives.
“The main thing [with city council] would be encouraging or providing sort of mental health support as well as gun storage giveaways,” said Cisneros.
Cisneros said the club has many goals for the upcoming semester. These include continued outreach efforts, as well as furthering education on gun safety and safe storage through pamphlets and tabling on campus. Cisneros also said they hope to get involved at the legislative level through meeting with lawmakers.
Most recently, on Jan. 30, Cisneros, Sotelo and other CU Boulder SDA members marked SDA Advocacy Day by going to the state capitol building to meet with lawmakers. The group worked with the speaker of the house, the president of the senate and members of Governor Polis’ staff to discuss legislation around gun violence prevention.
“Overall, we made our voices heard,” Cisneros said. “If students don’t get involved in the issues that uniquely affect our demographic, nothing will be done.”
In the future, he hopes to make SDA more of a community in Boulder and encourages students from all viewpoints to join the conversation.
Sotelo noted that his favorite part of the club is its non-partisanship.
“We have people in the club who have different standpoints on firearms,” Sotelo said. “Some people want to ban them entirely and some people do agree with preserving the Second Amendment.”
In increasingly partisan times, Cisneros emphasized the importance of understanding the issues facing our communities today, rather than politics and parties.
“When used the wrong way, a firearm is going to kill you the same way, no matter if you’re a liberal or a conservative. It is absolutely a non-partisan issue,” said Cisneros. “What has become partisan, are the solutions to it.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Camryn Montgomery at Camryn.montgomery@colorado.edu
