Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee hosted a regional conference on gun violence on Friday, bringing together local mayors, law enforcement and community organizations. Mayor Lee addressed gun violence as a “regional public health crisis.”
“We are working hard to make sure that the guns – the weapons of war, which I call them – are eliminated from the streets of Oakland,” said Mayor Lee. “It’s an issue of violence. It’s an issue of affordable housing… Many people have issues around poverty, lack of education. But we also have to have accountability.”
The aim of the daylong conference is to develop regional strategies to reduce gun violence, find ways to end the illegal firearm supply and to address root causes of gun violence. Breakout sessions focused on deterrence, gun industry accountability, and a regional action plan for the future.
“There are some people in this room who need to hear this, that you have to invest in the community-based organizations in your community,” said Guy Hudson with the San Francisco-based Street Violence Intervention Program, which works with at-risk and high-risk individuals.
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Hudson says the conference is an opportunity for different community groups to connect with other city and state leaders.
“It is not just elected officials sitting around talking about it. But actually, people at the ground level doing the work. and those people those people connecting with one another,” adds Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi.
“In order for us to create a safer Bay Area, we have to work regionally. Crime does not respect geographic boundaries,” said State Senator and former Berkeley Mayor, Jesse Arreguin.
Senator Arreguin says the conference is focused on developing effective policies on enforcement, and neighborhood-level violence prevention programs that work with local police. Antioch Police Chief Joe Vigil says this type of regional cooperation is important.
“Working with partners, seeing how other strategies can be useful us. I think it is a long-term investment. And I think it will benefit the city in the long run,” said Chief Vigil.
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