Gun Violence Awareness Month in the bluegrass

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - There have been nine homicides in Lexington this year, but that number is down from last year.

Representative Chad Aull is calling on his colleagues in the General Assembly to enact more gun safety measures. Although they filed several bills this session they didn’t go far.

“I think it’s an epidemic that’s not only impacting families and communities here in Lexington but across the country,” Representative Aull said.

In past sessions, Representative Aull said the Republican led General Assembly had championed legislation for red flag laws, but it did not pass.

“We as legislators, we hear your concern. We get your emails, and we get your calls, so if you live in a district where you happen to have a majority party member, it’s incumbent upon you to make your voice heard. We need you to call, email, and come to the capitol, make sure that the legislators know what you want to see done in this space,” Representative Aull said.

He said with some of those same legislators still in the general assembly, he believes they can take bigger steps next session.

“You know this issue is not a partisan issue. We talk about universal background checks, red flag laws, you talk about mental health checks, waiting period, raising the age for people to buy firearms those are supported by 80% of the population, so it’s not a democrat or republican issue. It’s a bipartisan safety issue, and what we should be focused on is how do we save lives?” He said.

Saturday at Woodland Park, people are encouraged to wear orange to honor survivors of gun violence.

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