Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is making it clear that stopping gun violence is still among his top priorities.
Ahead of his second inauguration as mayor on Tuesday, Lucas held a community listening session for mothers affected by gun violence. During the event, he was joined by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Moms Demand Action executive director Angela Ferrell-Zabala.
During his inauguration speech, Lucas laid out plans to address the gun violence issue in Kansas City. He told KCUR's Up To Date that the strategy to prevent gun violence is about prevention, intervention and enforcement.
"We're looking to ban the transfer of ammunition to minors, which will be a huge step for us, we're looking to ensure that there are local ordinance violations for the possession of components, and modifiers on your handgun that make them fully automatic weapons," said Lucas.
He added that investing in activities for young people, health care and trauma counseling could also be effective in preventing gun violence.
"And then on the intervention side, it is actually stopping retaliation when we know it's going to happen," Lucas explained. "It's been unfortunate, because we've acted like either you do 100% enforcement or 100% prevention. For us, I think it is important to say that there is this key balance, and I want Kansas City to be the place that gets it right."
- Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas
- Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action
