LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville branch of the NAACP is proposing an approach to advance gun violence legislation in Kentucky.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Louisville branch NAACP called on legislators to take action on gun violence 

  •  10 people were killed and 13 people were injured within six days in Louisville 

  •  They called on the Kentucky gubernatorial and attorney general candidates to state their position on gun violence 

  • They stated gun violence is the No. 1 killer of African Americans aged 15 to 34

This is in response to the 10 people killed and 13 people injured within six days in Louisville.

With the 2023 Kentucky Primary Election next month, the organization asked the 15 gubernatorial and two attorney general candidates to state their position on gun violence legislation.

“We’re in the midst of a crisis here in Jefferson County, and nobody’s doing anything about it. And that’s why we’re taking this opportunity to urge our lawmakers, people in positions to bring about change to address — to at least begin to address these issues,” Bennie Ivory, an executive committee member with the NAACP, said.

The NAACP is attempting to effort another phase to request Jefferson County representatives in the Kentucky legislature to draft, sponsor, endorse, advocate and publicly lobby for gun legislation. 

“Until our leaders begin to lead, we’re going to keep calling them out. Calling them out to the public in terms of asking you to do certain things. Ask that you do things to protect our community, and when you don’t, we call them out,” Raymond Burse, the First Vice President of the Louisville Branch NAACP, said.

The proposed legislation would include banning the sale of assault weapons — this includes AK-47s and AR-15s, the gun used in the Old National Bank Shooting in Louisville last week.

They are also calling the legislators to advocate to return “Home Rule” for Louisville, which would allow the city to enact its own gun legislation.

“If the general assembly is unwilling to do anything for all of Kentucky then we’re asking Jefferson County to control itself, past legislation rules that impact the interest of the citizens of Jefferson County,” Burse said.

Their statement also said that gun violence is the number one killer of African Americans aged 15 to 34. 

“There’s too many young people who are dying unnecessarily because of inaction and as I said, it’s just totally unacceptable to do nothing,” Ivory said.

The Louisville Branch NAACP also called the Jefferson County representatives to repeal the statute, which allows guns used in crimes to be auctioned to the public. They also call to require universal background checks on all gun sales and transfers in Kentucky.

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