The Firearm Violence Prevention Educational Symposium was held on February 20, 1997 to educate city and county policy makers in Santa Clara County about the increasing incidence of injuries from firearms in California and across the country. The Educational Symposium was planned after convening a large group of representatives from the community who are concerned about firearm violence and want to take an active role in working for prevention. The Community Alliance to Prevent and Reduce Firearm Violence included representatives from schools, churches, community organizations, advocacy groups, and others. Eleven of the 15 cities were represented at the Symposium, as was the County and the Offices of Elaine Alquist, Barbara Boxer and John Vasconcellos which kicked off new, countywide effort to reduce gun violence.