‘Shared crisis’: Grandparents call for responsible gun safety reform at KC rally
Jennie Anderson, of Independence, held an orange “Grandparents for Gun Safety” sign in one hand while in the other she cradled a photo of her nephew Javon Reilly, who was killed in a shooting at the age of 16.
“I wanted to be here to wear my orange for all of the lives that have been lost to gun violence,” Anderson said. “For the children, adults and for my nephew that have been killed, murdered.”
Anderson was among those demonstrating Friday evening at Mill Creek Park near the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. The rally, organized by Grandparents for Gun Safety, was calling attention to the epidemic of gun violence in the United States as part of the National Gun Violence Awareness Day and the National “Wear Orange” Weekend.
Anderson said her nephew was walking home from school on Sept. 19, 2016, when a man approached him and shot him a block from Van Horn High School. His killer was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
She wants to see tighter gun laws that include background checks, stricter sentences for those who commit gun crimes and a higher age requirement to purchase guns. She also wants help for those who are mentally ill.
“We’ve got to protect the children,” Anderson said. “We need to do more.”
‘We’ve had enough’
Judy Sherry, president and founder of Grandparents for Gun Safety, said the peaceful demonstration was to show that people are “sick and tired” of gun violence.
“We’ve had enough,” Sherry said. “We understand that there are common ground gun reform that can be enacted that would not take away anybody’s rights, anybody’s guns — just some gun reform that would keep guns out of the hands of people who really shouldn’t have them.”
There’s overwhelming support for background checks and extreme risk protection orders, better known as red flag laws, she said.
They are not against guns and they understand why people own guns, she said. They love responsible gun owners who safely store their guns and keep people safe.
Despite the recent mass shootings, including the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed and the supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where 10 people were killed, Sherry does not think there is enough momentum to pass stricter gun control laws.
That doesn’t mean she’s not optimistic.
“I believe that people are beginning to be very aware and I think soon, when the legislators realize that we also vote, they’re going to start paying attention,” she said. “No, I don’t have much hope right now for anything major happening. I wish I did.”
‘Shared crisis’
The call for gun safety reform comes as Kansas City has suffered 67 homicides so far this year, the vast majority a result of shootings. The city is outpacing last year, which became the second deadliest year on record with 157 homicides, following a record of 182 killings in 2020.
Mary and John Latenser, of Prairie Village, were among the those showing support for tighter gun safety laws, saying that if the elected leaders won’t support reform, it’s time to do it at the grassroots level.
The issue has become too politicized and what needs to be done is for both sides to find the common ground, Mary Latenser said. Each side will need to give something up to make it safer for everyone.
“We have a shared crisis,” Latenser said.
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 11:20 PM.
