Gun Violence Awareness Month shines spotlight on national, local epidemic

NEW YORK -- June 1 marks Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Here in New York, mayors from around the state are coming together to fight the epidemic of gun violence in their cities.

Mayor Eric Adams joined six other mayors to form a coalition that will partner with anti-violence advocates and faith leaders to address the problem and raise awareness.

READ MORE: Spotlight on NYC shootings and finding solutions this Gun Violence Awareness Month

As communities across the nation like Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, continue to mourn recent mass shootings, religious leaders in New York will deliver sermons this weekend in what's being called the "Weekend of Faith."

But it will take more than prayer to solve this country's gun debate.

CBS2's Dick Brennan spoke with K Bain, the founder and executive director of Community Capacity Development, which specializes in locally led public safety and anti-gun violence initiatives.

June 3 is "Wear Orange for Gun Violence Awareness Day."

"Awareness and consciousness is a part of the human justice equation that I subscribe to. My understanding is if you have human rights being met and people understanding their rights and being treated with dignity and fairness, if that is something that we push out to the world and make important, and then we couple that with human development, which is resources actually being given, distributed to people most impacted, most in need, then we will arrive at human justice," Bain said.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.