The chapter leader of Tennessee’s Moms Demand Action (MDA) spoke in Warren County Tuesday evening. Linda McFayden-Ketchum is the state leader for the grassroots movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence.
Much like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (MDA) hopes to improve and strengthen gun laws to help save lives on a national, state and local level. Laws on drunk driving in the 1980s were finally changed from the pure grassroots efforts of mothers who had lost children in car wrecks involving the unregulated use of alcohol. Laws and attitudes have certainly changed on drunk driving in the last 40 years. Linda believes that can happen concerning gun violence as well.
“We’re not against guns — not at all — we have no problem with hunting rifles or guns in the home for protection,” explained Linda to a standing-room-only audience in the Magnolia Room at the Warren County Administration Building. “We do have a problem with irresponsible gun ownership.”
She also cited some sobering statistics about Tennessee and gun violence.
“Guns are now the leading cause of death for children and youth in the state of Tennessee,” she explained, addressing the crowd at the December Warren County Democratic Party meeting. “It used to be car crashes, but we worked on that. We passed laws to make cars safer. We passed highway laws and speed limits. We constructed guard rails. We can pass common-sense gun legislation, too.”
Emphasizing that MDA is a non-partisan organization, she affirmed that gun violence affects everyone regardless of political affiliation. Tennessee is ranked 11th in the nation in gun deaths right now. Two-thirds of all gun deaths are by suicide. “Statistically, rural middle-aged white men use guns to commit suicide more than any other demographic, including people of color.”
Last year, 16 Tennesseans were unintentionally shot according to Linda, and half of those died. Two of those were two-year olds playing with a semi-automatic handgun in their parents’ homes.
“We know that Memphis, Tennessee is ground zero when it comes to gun violence. There is no doubt of that. But guns are also a very real problem in rural communities and small towns in Tennessee, too.”
Parent survivors of Nashville’s Covenant school shooting last March often travel with Linda to speaking engagements. They were unable to attend this event last-minute. “Their grief is still raw,” said Linda explaining their absence. This will be the first Christmas since three children and three adults were shot dead last March. Linda displayed six candles to represent the six victims.
“Our mission in a nutshell is to lower the death rate from guns. We are not a political organization, but we do advocate for stronger gun laws and work to close the loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families.”
Lawmakers will take action on gun laws and a host of other legislation when they resume in Nashville in January.
