Mayor Ward and Commissioner Duncan-Walker will anchor two-day City of Gainesville Gun Violence Summit
Press release from the City of Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The City of Gainesville is responding to rising gun violence with a two-day summit that will bring together stakeholders, community members, and nationally-recognized experts. With nine people killed by guns in Gainesville in 2022 and five shooting deaths already reported in 2023, the search for solutions is infused with a sense of urgency.
The City of Gainesville’s Gun Violence Summit, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, Aug. 6-7, at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, will include sessions dedicated to policy analysis, violence prevention, and group discussion. Anchored by Mayor Harvey Ward and Mayor Pro Tem and District 1 Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker, the event will be structured around a two-day framework to examine questions and inspire answers.
“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,” said Mayor Ward. “Crimes connected to gun violence, including burglaries and possession of illegal firearms, are a present and growing problem in every district.”
Commissioner Duncan-Walker has worked to stem gun violence throughout her term in office, beginning with a virtual town hall in late 2021 that drew more than 1,000 participants. In the 18 months since, the commissioner has introduced a February 2, 2023 motion to declare gun violence as a public health crisis and has joined Mayor Ward in calling for an event with the potential to position Gainesville as a leader on the front lines of this national dilemma.
“I have only become more determined to shine a light on how we can use opportunity, education, and the arts to reverse this trend in our community,” said Commissioner Duncan-Walker. “As a product of Gainesville, the growing occurrence of gun violence, especially the rise in incidents involving youth, is particularly disturbing to me. Addressing gun violence is a community-wide responsibility. I am confident this convening will be the beginning of a movement within our great city,” she said.
Commissioner Duncan-Walker will anchor the summit’s first day, hosting a community listening session and panel discussion, with both open to the public. The second day will shift toward policymaking, with a work session for thought leaders and an opportunity to hear from professionals in the field.
Registration information and additional details about the summit will be available in the coming weeks.
Enough of this posturing! Please shut up and just hire more officers and appoint apolitical leaders at GPD. Stop controlling the police dept from the dais. This issue can easily be corrected with common sense measures.
The only community wide responsibility is being ready to defend oneself forcefully and responsibly. Otherwise, responsibility rests directly with the offenders and their enablers. The more that responsiblity is shifted and spread away from the violent offenders, the less the chance that any progress will ever be made.
“Commissioner Duncan-Walker has worked to stem gun violence throughout her term in office,… In the 18 months since, the commissioner has introduced a February 2, 2023 motion to declare gun violence as a public health crisis and has joined Mayor Ward in calling for an event with the potential to position Gainesville as a leader on the front lines of this national dilemma.” ~ How well has that been working?
This well,…”nine people killed by guns in Gainesville in 2022 and five shooting deaths already reported in 2023.”
Evidently their policies and banter aren’t working. Their cry to defund and take away police assets has hampered law enforcement efforts. The continued late night alcohol policies haven’t done much to curb the violence.
I think it’s safe to say the commissioners and mayor haven’t done much except flounder with their approach.
Reminds me of many Democrat governed cities.
Protect yourselves if you’re legally able. Their talk is cheap and not going to protect anything other than those votes they pander for.
10, 20, life should straighten this sh!t out…it’s all black on black crime too…
First I would like to say, this is not just the city of Gainesville problem, this is a world wide, state to state, city to city problem regardless if it’s ran by a Republican’s, Democrat’s, or Independent. It’s easy to sit back to criticize, come to the meeting and give solutions or better yet run for City commission or Mayor and be the first Republican to have a no crime city.
As I understand, the State of Florida is ran by Republicans and they can’t prevent crime of any kind.
Two day summit? Experts? What? Another example of regressives wasting time and taxpayer money. Hey Des- the arts ain’t gonna solve anything. Neither is a two day sumit. Let me solve it for you- get rid of the homeless people; vigorously prosecute criminals! It really is that easy.
“The second day will shift toward policymaking, with a work session for thought leaders…”
What are thought leaders? Are they more like cult leaders or more like chief propagandists? Interesting wording considering they are positioning this as a gun issue…reminiscent of the infamous 1984 Thought Police. You aren’t going to successfully turn this issue around and blame regular gun owners, Harvey and Walker.
They admit only a tiny portion are devoted to thinking. The “leaders”
Get rid of Grace Marketplace. It’s like dumping a pile of food scraps on your front yard and then wondering why you have flies everywhere.
Want to curb gun violence teach felons to read its against the law for them to have a gun 😂😂
This is just more “smoke & mirrors” from the city commission!
-Quit handcuffing & defunding the police and let the Cops be Cops again!
-Who REALLY needs to be at this event & in the public eye aren’t the so-called “experts,” but representatives from the State Attorney’s Office and Alachua County judges. THEY’RE the ones who need to hear it about low bonds, substandard prosecutions, etc.
-Quit “Rolling out the red carpet” for all these drones of people coming into town for these weekend overnight rolling parties. Pretty strong correlation between the places they go, and where the shootings occur.
All demonrat propagandist against guns instead of the real problem of mental illness. Guns don’t shoot themselves.
“The City of Gainesville’s Black Gun Violence Summit”
fixed it!
IT IS SOOO MUCH AN EMERGENCY, LETS SCHEDULE IT 3 MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD. RESIGN AND GET OUT OF OFFICE AND INSTALL MORE COMPETENT LEADERS…ITS NOT GUNS, KNIFES, WEAPONS ITS EDUCATION AND YOU ALL FAILED THE KIDS. ANYTHING LESS IS AN INJUSTICE.
I would bet the taxpayers dollars will be used to pay for the open bar 🍸 that will go with the expensive meals.
And absolutely NOTHING will be accomplished to curb gun violence. Wake up people, you voted for goobers.
“Mayor Ward in calling for an event with the potential to position Gainesville as a leader on the front lines of this national dilemma”
THESE PEOPLE ARE DELUSIONAL! Your egos and ignorance of the streets will only add to the carnage. We need new leadership at GPD which will seriously help recruit GOOD cops and get rid of the liars and thugs that shame the department as they do now without much more than a slap on the wrist. I will personally share my nightmare with the city at this forum ms. Walker, which you ignored when I asked you to help set things right. Two different Gainesville citizens attacked by an out of state criminal within 1 hour and the city and GPD turned their backs on both.
You, the “leadership” of Gainesville, is our problem, not our or the Nations saviors as you so desperately want. When will anyone at city hall and GPD admit the truth so we really can move forward?
Same as it ever was…
Will it include a tie-in on STEALING guns, car break-ins, and how shoplifting causes food deserts?
Well let’s see how about appointing another CHIEF. Non-political appointment. Have the mayor walk the high crime areas after midnight by himself. If he doesn’t feel safe then neither do the few good folks who live there do either. Even in the daytime grown men just hanging out all day. Fix theses areas.
Another waste of time paid for by taxpayers. You can read in the Chronicle whenever a felon is caught with a gun the charge is always dropped.
Yeah I’m sure using the “arts” will help, maybe the felons can spray graffiti instead of each other.
God is the only withraw his wrath from this city. Governor Desantis needs to terminate everyone of the commissioners and mayor because of their leadership, this has caused an increase in gun violence and murder in this city. Why would you defund programs that prevent gun violence and murders to spend monies on a two day summit that is orchestrated by hypocrites.
The wrath of God is on this city because of the evil corruption that evolves from the mayor and commission and the people they are putting in positions to promote their evil agenda. Harvey Ward is excited about gun violence and seem to glorify murders downtown. Apparently, Harvey Ward is trying to rehash what Danny Rollings did in 1990, killing 5 students, decapitating 1 by trying to force everyone out of their comfort zones to downtown Gainesville to intermingle with students and put their lives at risk.
Start enforcing the laws on the books. 1) Panhandling and vagrancy laws. 2) Loud exhaust and traffic violations. Red light runners are endemic. 3) High bail for felonies. 4) 3 years minimum for a gun crime. That would include possession of a stolen/altered firearm. 5) Disperse illegal after-hours gatherings. We may need a curfew for awhile. Nothing good happens after midnight.