Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson says the community cannot accept the gun violence that the city has been seeing recently.
He made the comments during a Kalamazoo City Commission meeting Monday.
“We have a gun violence crisis in Kalamazoo.
And, although cities across Michigan and the nation are having similar experiences, we cannot accept this in our community. Every resident has a right to expect that, no matter what neighborhood they call home, it will be a safe place for them and their families.
The tragic, senseless and horrific deaths and shootings are devastating events for the entire community. It is a profound loss for children, for mothers, for family, for friends, for neighborhoods and our City. All of us experience the riptide of this trauma. Everyone suffers. No one is unscathed.
We must first hold a place in our hearts for the families for whom these events are front and center, forever and unalterably life changing.
And next, we must contemplate what daily path to tread so that the idea of serious violence in our shared community is an inconceivable notion. Our response will require us all to determine how we can be a part of the solution.
What affects one of us, affects all of us.
Ultimately what is the antidote for risk, or despair, or hopelessness or fear?
It can only be hope, belief and trust.
To hope, there must be opportunity.
To believe, there must be values.
And to trust, there must be honesty, decency and integrity.
We have a profound responsibility to help create a world of hope, belief and trust. It is up to us. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of those who have come to harm. The gun recklessness and violence must stop.
We must all do better together.”
