Town hall meeting in Frayser addresses gun violence

By Kelli Cook | September 26, 2019 at 10:52 PM CDT - Updated September 26 at 10:55 PM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A town hall meeting held Thursday night tackled gun violence, which is one of Memphis’ biggest issues.

State Senator Sara Kyle organized the event at the Ed Rice Community Center in Frayser, which included elected officials, law enforcement and gun control advocates.

“We're coming together as a community to see what we can or cannot do,” said Kyle

The day before this town hall meeting, Frayser resident Reginald Johnson said he was at another meeting. It was a meeting with Memphis homicide detectives to update him about his son Samuel’s case.

“October 31st, 2014, he was murdered and I tell you the pain is still real,” said Johnson.

He says there was no new updates in the case, but he’s hoping events like this will help others.

He has his own ideas on how to cut down on the gun violence.

“I think stricter gun laws, because I look at young people today that have got caught with the guns and get caught for or five times and get $250 bond and they’re back on the street,” said Johnson.

Senator Kyle says she’s pushing for a piece of gun control legislation called the “Red Flag Law.”

It would give law enforcement or family the chance to petition courts to have a firearm temporarily removed from someone they feel will potentially hurt themselves or others.

“I think you see some movement now on the other side of the aisle that is receptive to these type of reforms,” said Kyle.

However, not everyone on the panel thinks stricter gun control is the only answer. Shelby County Public Defender Phyllis Aluko says the city needs to address some of the underlying problems that leads to gun violence.

“I was telling someone recently that if you really get tough on crime, you’ll improve our educational system. You’ll provide better jobs,” said Aluko.

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