Gainesville to host gun violence summit in August

The Hilton UF Conference Center Hotel in Gainesville.
The Hilton UF Conference Center Hotel in Gainesville.
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The city of Gainesville announced on Tuesday that it will host a Gun Violence Summit on Aug. 6 and 7 in response to rising incidents in the area. 

Mayor Harvey Ward and Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker will anchor the summit that includes sessions dedicated to policy analysis, violence prevention and group discussions, according to a press release. The event will happen at the Hilton UF Conference Center with registration information to come. 

“This is a national problem with very real local consequences, and Gainesville leaders are committed to tackling this challenge locally with responsibility, compassion and transparency,” Ward said in the press release. “Crimes connected to gun violence, including burglaries and possession of illegal firearms, are a present and growing problem in every district.”   

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Last year, the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) reported nine shooting deaths, and so far in 2023, the city has had five shooting deaths.  

A 2021 wave of summer violence among juveniles spurred the city and other local officials to focus on gun violence. GPD continues its violence interrupters program and has sought the assistance of faith leaders, and Duncan-Walker held a town hall on gun violence at the end of 2021.  

Earlier this year, the city commission declared gun violence a public health crisis. State Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson proposed legislation to cut off the supply of stolen firearms in Florida 2023 session, but the bill failed to gain support

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Jeff Gehmann

Well, is Gainesville going to teach gun violence? This would seem normal from the town aka “Gangsville”. This is where criminals come to mature!

Mike

They’re focusing on the objects used and the actions taken instead of the people committing the violence. No matter how many laws or how much punishment is given, the objects (guns) and the action (violence) ARE NOT the cause of the problems. It’s the people doing it.

Encouraging proper behavior is only one element of good social responsibility. Understanding, believing and KNOWING that if you act in a way that society does NOT allow that you WILL receive punishment that you won’t like and you won’t be able to profit from is one of the very few ways to prevent people from committing atrocities. Our ‘leaders’ refuse to use those tools properly.

Our politicians have tried nearly every method conceivable to beat around that bush and yet they’re still re-elected – because they sound convincing and they spend lots of our money, so it looks like they MUST be on the right track, even when they aren’t.

Cynthia binder

Hooray some action 🎬. Gun violence has undoubtedly increased, sadly😥🤬😡😠 anger – towards this behavior.
Thank you mayor n commissioner.
A time only weapons were used for hunting food. Centuries ago. Why does humanity still have guns? Its a weapon. Just think 🤔 😌 about this…. my family crestseal is a wheel n 🐘 …
Word out that gun violence 😤 is not not cool🆒️🆗️thanks again 🙏 😒 😑 🙄

Sick of Regressives

Why does humanity still have cars? Cars kill as many people, or more, each year than guns. And cars are misused as weapons pretty frequently. In fact, there was a mass incident recently. Where is your outrage with respect to those instruments of death? Do the lives taken by guns matter more than those taken by cars?

Sick of Regressives

What a joke this is! Typical regressive response. Let’s waste some taxpayer money and sit around and talk about an issue and act important while doing absolutely nothing. Here is your solution- get rid of the homeless from the city and vigorously prosecute crime.

TeachYourChildren

Another waste of taxpayers money! The answer is to lock up criminals and watch the gun violence go down immensely!

The politicians still kicking the can down the street without ever admitting the problem is criminals with guns being released back into the public!

None of the politicians in this effort can do anything concrete against gun violence or they would lose the majority of their constituents!

Face the facts and take action based on them!