Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin calls for federal ban on assault weapons

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is advocating for common-sense gun laws in the aftermath of a violent weekend in the city.

Mayor Woodfin made a visual statement before Birmingham City Council Tuesday morning.

“If you want to defend your home, I’m cool with that, but tell me should people be driving around with these,” he said while holding up an AR15. “’cause that’s what they’re doing.”

While police have not disclosed exactly what guns were used in the shootings, Woodfin says putting a stop to the violence starts with practicality. He implores the federal government to ban assault military-style weapons on city streets.

“We have a public health crisis related to gun violence as an epidemic in our community and we don’t have local control to make unilateral decisions to be more aggressive to outlaw these types of guns that people are riding around in,” Woodfin said.

Birmingham police officer James Skinner was also called up to show councilors the guns commonly found on the city streets. The U.S. Marines veteran also shared the types of bullets being used in these guns.

“The ARs are all 223’s,” Skinner said. “That’s the same caliber ammo we use [in Iraq and Afghanistan].”

Patricia Ann Dailey lives near Echo Highlands Park, where a triple homicide took place Saturday. She wants to see more police patrols in her neighborhood.

“I made a call on Fourth of July about gunshots in the park, and I did not see a police officer patrol,” Dailey said. “This could have been prevented if the police had been patrolling the park. This would not have happened.”

Dailey said Mayor Woodfin assured her that a patrol would be added to her neighborhood.

Woodfin also announced a push to work more closely with the city’s federal partners, including the DEA and the ATF, to crack down on criminal behavior. He’s asking anyone in the community with information on suspected drug houses to call 205-254-6450. You can remain anonymous.

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