LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Spectrum News 1 is talking to voters to learn about the issues they’ll be considering when they cast their ballot this election. As Juanita Williams heads to the polls, gun reform will be on her mind.
What You Need To Know
- Spectrum News 1 is talking to voters to learn about the issues they'll be considering as they cast a ballot this election
- Juanita Williams says she's motivated by gun reform
- Her son Aaron was shot and killed in 2016
- His case remains unsolved
Every Sunday, no matter the weather, you’ll find Williams at Calvary Cemetery in Louisville.
“It doesn’t matter, rain, sleet or snow, your mama’s coming,” she said as rain fell on the grave of her son Aaron, who has been gone six years.
Williams placed yellow flowers in a vase and wiped the rain off the headstone.
“He was very loving, very affectionate, very attentive,” said Williams. “Aaron was a good son. He was a great son. I can’t take nothing from it. Aaron was a great son, and he was a super father.”
The 26-year-old father and basketball star, who played at duPont Manual High School and Morehead State University, was shot and killed in 2016.
The case remains unsolved.
“I know they said, at some point, it gets better, but without justice for my son, and knowing who murdered my son, it’s hell for me,” she said.
Williams is part of the support group M.O.M.S. (Mothers of Murdered Sons and Daughters) of Kentucky.
As she prepares to vote this Election Day, she’s motivated by gun reform.
“We’re going to always, until something is done with these guns, we’re going to always be sitting right here,” said Williams. “It may not be me, but it’s going to be another mother sitting right here, giving her story.”
In 2019, Kentucky law changed to say that if you are 21 or older and legally allowed to have a gun, you can carry it without a concealed carry permit.
“I feel at that point, it was a turning point for guns and stuff,” said Williams.
Her sister, Alkeshia Boone, agrees that it should be harder for people to get their hands on guns.
“This election is a very big election because we do have judges, several judges on the ballot and I want someone that is going to be fair. Fair towards the family and towards the victim,” said Boone. “I want somebody who’s going to advocate for individuals who’s affected by gun violence.”
A bipartisan group known as 97Percent surveyed nearly 1,100 gun owners across the country.
In a report released last month, the group found that 75% of gun owners are concerned about school shootings and 71% are concerned about mass shootings.
Over 80% think people convicted of a violent crime should not be able to buy or own a firearm, according to the report.
Williams keeps fighting for her granddaughter, who just celebrated another birthday without Aaron.
She hopes that some Sunday, she’ll be able to come to her son’s resting place at peace.
“I remember it as if it happened yesterday because it plays over and over and over in my head, but yet, there’s still no justice.”