Lumina Alliance Invites Community to Take the Pledge for Gun Safety

Local Survivor Speaks Out About Intimate Partner and Family Gun Violence

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — Lumina Alliance recently announced a Gun Safety Campaign with the goal of raising awareness on the intersection between firearms and intimate partner violence. As part of the campaign, Lumina Alliance is now inviting the community to take a Pledge for Gun Safety, and to commit to taking action to end gun violence In SLO County.

According to Clementine Ellis, Special Campaign Administrator, gun violence is typically difficult to talk or think about. “It can seem like there is nothing we can do to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities from gun violence, but that isn’t true. Gun violence impacts all of us, and it is our collective responsibility to address it,” says Ellis.

Tanya Winje was a victim of domestic and gun violence at 14 years old when her father used a gun to shoot her mother. Her mother survived and her father was sent to jail. Winje has turned this horrific experience into her advocacy work as a volunteer with Lumina Alliance.

“We must recognize that ending family violence goes beyond addressing individual incidents; it involves dismantling the very foundations that enable such behavior. By doing so, we can begin to heal ourselves and create a ripple effect that extends beyond our immediate family…Together, let us pledge to stop generational abuse, to end family violence, and to create a future where love, respect, and compassion prevail,” says Winje. “The Pledge for Gun Safety is an important first step.”