State and local leaders march for gun violence awareness
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Marchers head down East Lafayette Street in Detroit to raise awareness for gun violence. Photo: Samuel Robinson/Axios
Hundreds marched through Detroit's east side Saturday to "silence the violence" as part of the Church of Messiah's 15th annual gun violence awareness rally.
- Community members, clergy, local politicians and law enforcement leaders honored victims and demanded solutions before marching down East Lafayette Street.
Why it matters: Shootings in the city decreased in 2021, but Detroit police chief James White believes that could have been a result of the pandemic. While he credits his department's prevention efforts for last year's reduction in homicides and nonfatal shootings, he acknowledges policing isn't the sole solution.
- "It's not going to come from Uncle James or your grandfather — it's going to take young people saying 'Enough is enough, guys,'" White tells Axios.
What they're saying: "(City leaders) talk about crime problems, gun problems — but at the root of this is a relationship problem," Bishop Daryl Harris tells Axios, referring to a lack of conflict resolution skills among people vulnerable to committing violence.
- Harris is a faith coordinator with Ceasefire Detroit, a violence intervention group and one of many neighborhood organizations focused on quelling violence that participated in the event.
- "Let's think about how we can take this past a rally and a press conference … How can we use our voices to bring about common sense laws," City Council President Mary Sheffield, said during the rally.
Driving the news: Democrats in Lansing have been pushing for gun safety bills since an Oxford High School student shot and killed four classmates and injured seven others on campus last year.
- Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, promised Senate Democrats that their "red flag" gun bills would receive a committee hearing, which has yet to happen..
- "They always say that they will but I don't actually believe that's going to happen," Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Hamtramck, told Axios at the event Saturday.
Zoom out: Thousands wore orange during demonstrations across the country Saturday for National Gun Violence Awareness Day.