Photo by Ingrid Schnader
Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer presents a proclamation to Karen McClure and Enslen Crowe of the Birmingham chapter of Moms Demand Action at the Jan. 27 council meeting.
Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer proclaimed Feb. 1-8 as National Gun Violence Survivors Week at Monday's City Council meeting.
Karen McClure, a local lead for Moms Demand Action, said Homewood has been the only local municipality to adopt the proclamation so far.
“When I talked to them about it, one of the reasons that I said I think it would be important to Homewood especially is we’ve had a couple of high-profile gun deaths here in the community, unfortunately, with Aniah Blanchard and Megan Montgomery,” McClure said. “So we feel it’s very important for the community at large and to the surviving family and friends of those two women for the city to recognize that week.”
McClure is a Homewood resident and said she is proud of her city for adopting the proclamation. She became a member of the local Moms Demand Action group after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016.
“I decided I could either be angry and not do anything or I can see what I can do to help,” she said.
According to the proclamation, over 36,000 Americans are killed every year in acts of gun violence. The Giffords Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, found that Americans are 25 times more likely to die from gun violence than residents of peer nations such as France, Canada and Germany.
“Knowing how big the problem is has fueled me to keep going and to want to be involved in some way,” McClure said. “What I’m hoping with this proclamation is that we can facilitate a dialogue within the community on what we can do to prevent things like what happened to Aniah.”
McClure said the Moms Demand Action group is planning events for National Gun Violence Survivors Week to raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of those affected by gun violence. Visit momsdemandaction.org/events for more information.
