This week our community and District 10 was shaken by another tragic, senseless act of gun violence that took the lives of Amanda Broderick, Alyssa Broderick, and Willie Simmons III. In direct response to the daily scourge of gun violence, today, the Austin City Council approved a resolution authored by Council Member Alison Alter calling for state and federal authorities to take all actions necessary to immediately address gun violence and directing the City Manager to accelerate local efforts to combat gun violence. The resolution was co-sponsored by Mayor Steve Adler, Council Member Gregorio Casar, Council Member Paige Ellis, Council Member Ann Kitchen, Council Member Leslie Pool and Council Member Kathie Tovo.
"Common sense gun violence prevention is both possible and necessary; we all know that prayers are not enough,"
said Council Member Alison Alter, the resolution's author. "Gun violence is a public health crisis and we need our state and federal leaders to treat it as such. This resolution implores the Texas Legislature to advance proposals included in Governor Abbott's own 2018 School and Firearm Safety Action Plan, to pass common sense legislation such as requiring a background check on every gun sale, and to protect and preserve our existing statewide training and licensing requirements to carry a handgun."
"We applaud the Austin City Council for passing a resolution that calls on our state and federal lawmakers to take action in response to alarming rates of gun violence in Austin and other cities across our state,"
said Nicole Golden, a volunteer leader with the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action. "Texans of all stripes, including gun owners, want common-sense measures and policies that will end gun violence, and we're proud to stand with our City Council members in demanding more than thoughts and prayers."
"Gun violence is preventable,"
said Austin City Council Member Greg Casar. "Although Austin is one of the safest cities in the country, in some neighborhoods in District 4, we deal with higher levels of gun violence. So many of these shootings are preventable, if we focus on stopping gun violence before it starts at all levels of government."
"Today, we keep the victims and survivors in our hearts as we work to end gun violence in our community. Part of our collective healing process must include doing everything in our power to prevent future tragedies,"
said Council Member Kathie Tovo. "As an Austin City Council Member and as a mother, I will continue to advocate for a comprehensive approach to reducing gun crime against Texans – and I call upon all of our elected officials in the State to do the same. As longtime advocacy organizations say: we don't need to live this way – and we don't need to die this way."
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the following: "We implore our Texas Legislature, the Governor and lawmakers to act now to enact common-sense gun reform, adopt red flag laws and do what they were elected to do – serve the will of the people. We see nationally that the
majority of Americans support law enforcement and family members to urge judges to remove firearms from those that are posing a threat. For the
Broderick and Simmons families, this simple act could have prevented their loss just as it could have saved and will save countless others."
"Words cannot describe the frustration we feel to have lost three of our community members to gun violence – while the Texas legislature doubles down on policies that will cause more loss of life with permitless gun carry bills."
said Council Member Leslie Pool. "We call upon our state and federal leaders to listen to the facts and to the majority of Americans who want our leaders to pass stricter gun laws, and do what's right by our communities."
"Last weekend, the senseless tragedy we witnessed in Austin showed how the legal system can fail,"
said Council Member Paige Ellis. "This resolution points out the vital need for Texas to adopt an Extreme Risk Protective Order. We have an obligation to provide the victims of family violence and abuse every legal tool to help protect themselves and the community."
To read the full resolution, visit
https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=358705
