Mayor Pro Tem Alter, Survivors, and Advocates to Commemorate Gun Violence Awareness Month with Proclamation

The press is invited to Austin City Hall on Thursday, June 9th at 5:30 pm, where Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter will present a proclamation to local advocates for Gun Violence Awareness Month together with other members of the City Council. The group accepting the proclamation will include APD Chief Chacon, as well as representatives from Moms Demand Action, Texas Gun Sense, Austin’s Office of Violence Prevention, APD’s Victim Services, The Community Justice Action Fund, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, Lock Arms for Life, and other community leaders. The Mayor Pro Tem and officials from these organizations will be available afterwards to answer questions.
 
“Mass shootings are tragic, senseless, and largely preventable, but with this proclamation, I also want to call attention to the less reported-on gun deaths that we see in our community,” said Mayor Pro Tem Alter. “Our public safety ecosystem must also look at preventing intimate partner homicides, suicides, and accidents caused by improper storage.”
 
In late May, Mayor Pro Tem Alter acknowledged the shooting in Uvalde, Texas from the Council dais. She also shared some recent steps the City of Austin has taken to reduce and prevent gun violence. “The summer months are typically the worst time for gun violence in the United States, so this month is the ideal time to look more closely at the impact of gun violence in our community,” said Alter.
 
“Guns steal the lives of more than 4,000 Texans each year,” said Nicole Golden, Executive Director of Texas Gun Sense. “We thank Mayor Pro Tem Alter and the Austin City Council for elevating this crisis and know that through action at every level of government, we can create a future free from gun violence for us all.”
 
The proclamation comes one day after the gun violence prevention summit and town hall that Mayor Pro Tem Alter hosted with District Attorney Jose Garza, Travis County Judge Andy Brown, and Mayor Steve Adler. “I hope that the biggest takeaway from this week is that we do not have to live like this, and there are resources and solutions available,” said Mayor Pro Tem Alter. “For those who want to learn more, a good place to start is the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), which I launched in 2020. The OVP takes a public health approach towards addressing the gun violence epidemic, and we need to use every tool that we can to interrupt violence in our community. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation.” View the livestream video of the town hall here.