On Twitter Thursday morning (12/26/19), Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop displayed a slideshow of the Jersey City year in review. In his tweet, Fulop announced the “lowest homicide rate in 50+ years.” Like many other residents from the south side of Jersey City, Democratic primary candidate John J Flora (NJ-10) is not yet ready to celebrate. “Months like the one we’ve seen this December are precisely why I’ve been critical of our mayor making half-year comparisons of gun violence across Jersey City,” said Flora.

On Monday, shots rang out at 191 Bergen Avenue. There were no injuries but a police station and public school were hit. The same morning of the Mayor’s tweet, three officers suffered minor injuries in another unrelated incident where gunfire was reported.

“I have been trying to understand Jersey City gun violence through a social lens since 2016”, said Flora. “I began by looking at statistics provided by the police department, working to making connections to public school enrollment trends. I’ve also supported the work of local groups like the Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement and Jersey City Together. I’ve had countless conversations with victims, students, and thought leaders around the city”.

A lifelong urban practitioner in the local public schools and recent graduate from the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis at Columbia University, Flora worked with the families of victims and community leaders to help draft “The Jayden and Jordan Bill.” Still in its infancy, it is a group effort to create an efficient and impactful piece of legislation to help all communities plagued with chronic gun violence like Jersey City.

The Jordan and Jayden Bill addresses gun violence in several ways. For adults who are habitual violent offenders or repeatedly caught with illegal firearms, harsher penalties; mandatory training for anyone who would like to have a firearm permit in the first place; financial consequences, like liability for victims’ legal and medical expenses, for states connected to straw purchases of firearms.

When asked about the bill, Flora said that “what makes it so unique is the inclusion of two key components that address youth violent offenders. First, it would focus on gun violence prevention via early identification of school-aged students who demonstrate a predisposition to violence. Second, it would fund extended rehabilitation for violent juveniles.”

John Flora grew up in Jersey City and Bayonne and knows firsthand about increasing gun violence. “Kids don’t have fistfights anymore. They ride up on bikes and shoot as many bullets as they can,” said Flora comparing and contrasting the times. “Access to guns is also greater now than it was when I was a kid. But worst of all, the time of shootings today is much more sporadic than in years past.” He explained, “Shootings happen during all times of the day now, even when children are in schools and on playgrounds.”

“We don’t need any more year-end slideshows with pretty pictures, and residents could care less about comforting numbers,” said Flora. “We need to see real action through legislation, because thoughts and prayers are just thoughts and prayers without practical policy to follow.”