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Students Have A Message: The Gun Debate Isn't Going Away (Updated)

Josh James
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WUKY
Lexington high school students stand behind Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo (D-Lexington), Rep. Kelly Flood (D-Lexington), Sen. Reggie Thomas (D-Lexington), and 6th District GOP congressional candidate Chuck Eddy at a town hall on gun violence on May 2, 2018.

Student activists in Lexington want to keep the community conversation about gun violence moving. Tonight they’re holding a town hall meeting on the topic.

With a recent deadly school shooting in Marshall County and local and national marches placing the gun control debate front and center, the challenge for activists now is maintaining that momentum. To that end, students organized a town hall, open to all, tonight at the Lyric Theatre.

Of the nearly two dozen state and local policymakers invited, five agreed to attend: Democratic lawmakers Sen. Reggie Thomas, Rep. Kelly Flood, and Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, along with Mayor Jim Gray. One Republican, 6th District Andy Barr challenger Chuck Eddy has also signed on.

Organizer and event moderator Audrey Fields says students at Lafayette High School and across the community are in the mood for action.

"Especially after the Parkland (Florida) shooting, there is definite change in demeanor in a lot of students," she tells WUKY. "We helped organizer the walkout here at Lafayette and we had a great turnout and we just really wanted to continue what we had started. We don't want it to stop with just one event."

The two-hour meeting is billed as a bipartisan town hall focusing on generating ideas for reducing gun violence.

It gets underway at 6 tonight.

Update (10:00 p.m.): The student-led town hall on gun violence drew an audience of about 100 people to Lexington’s Lyric Theatre Wednesday night.

High school students raised over $1,100 to put on the town hall and managed to snag two 6th District congressional candidates – a Democrat and a Republican – along with two sitting state representatives for the event.

Credit Josh James / WUKY
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WUKY
Speakers, many of whom lost loved ones to gun violence, addressed the panel of lawmakers and candidates at the Kentucky Town Hall on Gun Violence on May 2, 2018.

Questioners quizzed panelists on issues ranging from curfews to smart gun technology, but it was personal stories and heartfelt pleas for action that drove much of the discussion.

Many applauded the work of student activists, but Democratic Rep. Kelly Flood took her praise a step further – admitting that she had been hesitant to address gun laws out of fear for her safety.

"I knew if any of us women who were bringing it up stood up and made a point too early that we could just be killed," the Lexington Democrat said. "It really did scare the living mess out of me."

Flood said she's been encouraged by the attention that the gun issue is now receiving. But Republican Chuck Eddy – who favors universal background checks, waiting periods, and what he called other "non-Republican ideas" – repeatedly cautioned that any movement on gun policy will require advocates to get out of their comfort zone.

"We need to make sure that we each talk to five people coming out of this meeting that you don't normally engage with about why you were here and what you can do," the GOP primary candidate urged.

Democratic Sen. Reggie Thomas and Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo also sat on the evening’s panel.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
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