Mayor Buffaloe names June 2nd “National Gun Violence Awareness Day” in Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
On Wednesday, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe signed a proclamation declaring June 2 as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" in Columbia.
Buffaloe retweeted Kristin Bowen, a volunteer with Moms Deman Action for Gun Sense in America on Wednesday saying she is "proud to declare this Friday as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in CoMo."
The City of Columbia is encouraging everyone to wear orange to show to their support for "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" to honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors.
Mayor Buffaloe told ABC 17 News the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an organization which advocates to reduce gun violence is the one who initiated the request for a proclamation.
When ABC 17 News talked to the organization, it said the tradition of wearing orange started in 2015 to honor the life of Hadiya Pendelton, a Chicago woman who died from gun violence.
Looking at gun violence across the state, according to Everystat.org, on an average year in Missouri, over 1,000 people die by guns, with 44% percent of gun deaths in Missouri being classified as murder.
Locally, showmecrime.mo.gov states so far in 2023, there has been 104 gun-related crimes which haven't resulted in death.
When ABC 17 News talked to Columbia Police Department about the proclamation, CPD said, "The mayor's proclamation sets the stage for community awareness and engagement to reduce gun violence. We're thankful for this call to action."
CPD also said, "in the interest of discouraging violence, CPD's practice is to pursue any shooting as if it was a homicide. Our Patrol and Investigations divisions work cooperatively to identify victims, suspects and the circumstances surrounding violent incidents and to establish probable cause to make arrests." It added, "this is just one aspect of addressing violence, and we are grateful for all the local partner organizations who have this is as their mission."
Catey Terry, spokeswoman for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America says while the goal is raising awareness..for her, she wants to lead by example.
"I joined this movement because I want my children and family to be safe … I think many of us did. And so any action that I can take that moves us closer to a future with less gun violence or no gun violence would be great," said Terry.
