(From left to right) State Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, Rep. Jackie Speier, and Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,  participate in a town hall meeting on gun violence at Lincoln High School in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, August 27
Photo: Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

Editor's note:  In her role as state surgeon general, Dr. Harris addressed gun violence as preventable and important to treat as a public health issue. She said that in 2017, there were more reported firearm-related deaths than opioid overdoses. The article includes these statements by Dr. Harris:  “These are not just isolated incidents. The most important thing is rejecting the myth that gun violence is a thing that happens,” Burke Harris said of firearm deaths across the country. “The evidence is clear that gun violence is a public health issue. Where is the bipartisan legislation for gun violence?”

A month after three people were shot and killed at the Gilroy Garlic Festival and just weeks after 31 others were killed in separate mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jackie Speier called for comprehensive gun violence legislation at a town hall in San Francisco Tuesday evening.

Pelosi and Speier, seated in front of four prominently placed American flags in the packed auditorium of Lincoln High School, repeated calls for “common sense” gun legislation. The two Democrats joined Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, and Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, the surgeon general of California, in a discussion with local residents.

The “VIP” guest on the panel, Pelosi said, was 17-year-old AJ Santiago, a student at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School in San Francisco. AJ’s best friend, Day’von Hann, 15, was shot and killed near his Mission District home in July.

“He was the light of the community,” AJ said. “For some reason, Day’von didn’t make it. No one should ever have to feel the pain that Day’von’s friends and family feels. I’m sitting up here now trying to hold back tears, but in reality — it’s like — he’s really gone. He’s not here anymore. I’m not going to see his face anymore. I’m not going to be able to hug him.”

Pelosi and Shannon wiped away tears as AJ told the crowd she is going to graduate from high school in Hann’s honor. Hann didn’t get the chance to go to prom, Santiago said, or finish high school.

Click here to read the entire article by Lauren Hernández.