Local leaders, residents address gun violence in Birmingham at public forum

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Community leaders, law enforcement and residents gathered Tuesday night to address the ongoing problem of gun violence in Birmingham.

Organized by the alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, the forum brought together a diverse panel of community leaders and students who shared their perspectives on the crisis.

During the forum, nearly half of the participants raised their hands when asked if they had been personally affected by gun violence.

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr delivered a sobering message to the public.

“Why so many guns? Why every time I see a young man with a gun in his car, a gun in his hand, a gun in his belt, shooting a gun, in jail for gun violence? The mentality right now is: Dead people don’t come out of graves, but gunmen come out of jail,” Carr said.

His words reflect the reality he heard from a 14-year-old boy in Birmingham.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said that while shootings are down in the city, homicides remain a serious concern.

“Gun violence, as far as people getting shot, is down. It’s homicides that are the issue. Just so everybody knows, crime is down 14.4 percent in the city of Birmingham right now. There’s one category we’re up in, and that’s homicides,” Thurmond said.

One of the most powerful voices on the forum was Damon Melton, a ninth-grader who spoke out about the negative influences his peers face.

“I’ve heard my friends, regardless of race or gender, talk more about being thugs, scammers and murderers than they do about their education. That’s what’s glorified in our society and we really need to look at ourselves and understand why we’re here,” Melton said.

Carr also stressed the importance of family influence, explaining that community programs alone are not enough without positive reinforcement at home.

“This program might be two or three hours long, but when they come home and they come in and their uncle, their cousin and them are playing dice, smoking some weed and that’s the environment they’re in, we all have to step back here and take a young person and make sure that if they don’t have that, we stand in their shoes and give them that opportunity to succeed,” Carr said.

The forum highlighted the need for a united community effort to combat gun violence, with calls for greater involvement and support for young people to help break the cycle.

The organization’s president said they plan to continue hosting events like this and keep the dialogue open with the community by talking to people who participate in gun violence in the city.

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