NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Reducing gun violence was the focus of a roundtable on Monday in Newport News.
Congressman Bobby Scott hosted the discussion which involved local officials, law enforcement officers, faith leaders, and community advocates.
The first person in the audience to speak was Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan. He talked about the city's re-entry program, designed to help incarcerated individuals find jobs in the community.
Earlier this summer, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed the first piece of federal gun violence prevention legislation to be enacted in nearly three decades. It’s the "Bipartisan Safer Communities Act."
Congressman Scott says he wants to see more bills passed that are designed to address gun violence prevention. These include the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” the "Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021,” and the “Assault Weapons ban of 2022.”
"If you invest in reducing the root causes of crime, you can make quite a difference and that’s where the consensus was here today," said Congressman Scott. "So we’ll be continuing these efforts, continuing to see where we put money and make sure it’s working, but I think the discussion today was very valuable.”
Scott says a holistic approach includes schools, churches, the health care system, law enforcement, and more.
Representatives of various grassroots organizations also spoke at the event. That includes Troy Ketchmore of Ketchmore Kids who is passionate about helping youth and called on the public to help.
"We have to learn to work together, come up with solutions and resolve problems and pull in anybody that’s willing to help that’s committed to this mission. You can’t exclude anybody because we don’t have that luxury,” Ketchmore said.
Congressman Scott promised to have more forums like this; however, no specific plans were announced.
