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LITTLE ROCK, Ark – An Arkansas group taking a stance against gun violence is calling on the governor to make a change.
On May 10, members from the group Arkansas Stop The Violence delivered a letter to the office of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders asking her to help get illegal guns off the streets.
Little Rock group deliver letters to Governor Sanders asking for an end to gun violence in their neighborhood The organizer of the group said he believes that many people walking around with unregistered guns, and families in the community have had to pay the price, like Lakesia Smith, who buried her son in 2014.
“It’s a lot of families, we shouldn’t have to go through this it shouldn’t be all this fighting and shooting,” Smith said.
Smith was one of many who delivered a letter to the governor’s office requesting that illegal guns be taken off the streets. It’s now three months later and they say the governor hasn’t taken action.
“The letter basically says that the governor’s in agreeance, she agrees with us that the state needs to be saved,” Arkansas Stop the Violence president Benny Johnson said.
Arkansas Stop the Violence Movement speaking out after Sunday afternoon shooting leaving one injured Johnson said that wasn’t enough and that action needs to be taken
“I wish she could put together a task force to deal with these issues because it’s a lot of people that’s losing their lives,” Johnson said.
The Little Rock Police Department reported that crime rates through Aug. 19 of this year are down by 27% compared to 2023, but some families are still feeling the effects of gun violence.
For Corbella Crutchfield, the list of lost family members is long.
“I’ve lost two god sons, Darryl Esaw, junior recently, Samajay O’Neil, nephew Barry Campbell,” Crutchfield said.
Pine Bluff’s Group Violence Intervention holds discussion aimed at tackling gun violence She said it’s a harsh reality and noted that the sooner Sanders takes action, the fewer the families that will be affected by gun violence.
Sanders spokesperson Sam Dubke issued a statement saying that “Governor Sanders has taken strong action to fight crime in Arkansas.”
“She put more police officers on the road, raised their compensation, and placed tougher penalties on violent repeat offenders— and it’s already having an effect: violent crime in Little Rock is down double digits from this time last year,” the statement read. “Governor Sanders signed the Safer, Stronger Arkansas legislative package in 2023. That package included the Protect Act, which placed tough penalties on violent repeat offenders, Death by Delivery, which placed tougher penalties on drug dealers whose actions cause a death, investments in law enforcement training and compensation, and the first major investment in Arkansas’ prison system in nearly two decades.”
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