A group of mothers who have lost children to gun violence today joined Mayor Linda Gorton in a call for safe end-of-year school celebrations, and a safe summer.
“This is National Youth Violence Prevention Week, and I am calling on young people in Lexington to honor the young lives we have already lost, and the families that continue to grieve, by putting down your guns,” Gorton said.
In recent months, in part thanks to the work of ONE Lexington, we have seen the number of gun deaths among young people decline, Gorton said. “We want that number to drop to zero, and to stay at zero. The mothers here today have joined together to urge all of our young people to be safe … to put down their weapons. As a mother and a grandmother, I join them. These are all our children.”
Devine Carama, director of ONE Lexington, said, “It has been an honor to work with these families and to support them as they continue to work stop gun violence in Lexington. One Lexington has had some success, but we recognize we still have a lot of work to do.”
From 2021 through the first quarter of 2023, Lexington has seen a 75 percent decrease in gun-related homicides among youth and young adults. Even so, Carama recognizes that year-end school gatherings and summer months can be particularly dangerous.
Mothers who joined the Mayor included Priscilla Sandifer, the mother of Amaya Taylor-Sandifer, an innocent bystander who was shot and killed on May 7, 2022, while dropping off a friend to a party in Green Acres Park. Ms. Taylor-Sandifer was a student at Tennessee State University. She was recently presented a bachelor’s degree posthumously.
Deana Howard, is the mother of 19-year-old Sean Howard, who was shot and killed in August, 2017. Deana Howard works as an advocate for survivors, and with Moms Demand Action, a group fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence.
“Everything we do at ONE Lexington is informed by the pain and experiences of gun violence survivors,” Carama said. “Too often survivors are forgotten and left to pick up the pieces by themselves. Our community partners work hard every day to support those families affected by gun violence.”
