Columbia mayor signs letter asking Kehoe to ban youth from having handguns
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe was one of four Missouri mayors to sign a letter that asks Missouri’s next governor to prevent children from possessing handguns.
Buffaloe, Springfield Mayor Ken MClure, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a letter dated Nov. 15 that was addressed to Governor-elect Mike Kehoe.
The letter – which was sent to ABC 17 News from Buffaloe – cites a string of threats that impacted schools nationwide after the start of the school year. Columbia Public Schools was among several districts in Missouri that faced possible threats. Several Mid-Missouri schools saw threats arise, including the Ashland school district, which led to multiple arrests.
“This led to temporary lockdowns of those schools in some instances and deep fear and anxiety for students and their families,” the letter reads. “We owe it to ourselves and our state to protect children. For us, this means changing Missouri’s laws to establish a prohibition of juveniles possessing a handgun mirroring federal law.”
“The concept is simple. If you are under 18, you should not have a handgun."
The letter also asks for the state to have a better reporting system for when a student brings a weapon to school, including creating a public database that can be viewed by parents after an incident occurs.
“Right now, the process of reporting and responding to incidents involving a weapon at school or significant disturbances is sporadic at best,” the letter says. “Notably, in conversation examples surfaced where a handgun had been removed from school by law enforcement with no additional community notice required.”
Reporting from September showed that people ages 10-17 were the third-highest age group to commit gun offenses in Columbia this year, which led to organizations to call on city leaders to help at-risk youth. Through October, gun-related crimes in Columbia were up compared to the same point in time last year.
