TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Community members gathered Wednesday night at Strikers Youth Arts Project for a forum on gun violence, hosted by the Urban League and the Leon County Council on the Status of Men and Boys.
- Urban League and Leon County Council on the Status of Men and Boys hosted a community forum focused on reducing gun violence
- Law enforcement and organizers emphasized education and outreach in neighborhoods most impacted by gun-related crime
- Watch the video below to see why community leaders say now is the time to take action
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Wednesday night in Tallahassee, the Urban League, law enforcement, and the Council on the Status of Men and Boys held a community discussion about preventing gun violence.
Community leaders say a conversation like this is the first step to making our neighborhoods safer.
"The goal of Leon County Sheriff's Office and every law enforcement agency is to reduce gun violence, but we reduce it with education," said Deputy Paxton Rogers.
At Strikers Youth Arts Project, college students, community leaders, and neighbors of all ages gathered for an open discussion about gun violence and what can be done to create change.
Tallahassee Urban League President Curtis Taylor says the goal is to move past the headlines and toward real solutions.
He said, "We will have a dialogue about how to come up with ways to combat this senseless gun violence and crimes in our communities."
Royle King, the executive director for the Council on the Status of Men and Boys, argues education is key to preventing violence.
King stated, "A lot of the work we do is training and education. A lot of times in communities where we're experiencing a lot of the gun violence, everybody does not know the issues that happen, so it's our job to educate them and make sure they understand the seriousness of guns and the laws associated with having guns."
That education, paired with open and honest dialogue, is what law enforcement hopes will save lives, especially younger residents.
Deputy Paxton Rogers said, "When it comes to gun violence, I want to make an everlasting impression upon them. A single pull of a trigger can have a longer, everlasting effect."
Organizers say this is just the beginning. More forums like this are planned for the fall all with one goal in mind: preventing violence before it starts.
The next combined forum will be on Thursday, September 25.
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