ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said she wants city leaders to pass new gun laws. She called on the city Board of Aldermen to take action during a roundtable discussion Tuesday with gun violence survivors.
Erica Jones said she attended the roundtable discussion with city leaders, gun violence advocates and survivors for a chance to be heard.
Erica is currently raising her grandson after her daughter, Whitney Brown, and her friend, were gunned down in 2015. Jones leads Voices of the Voiceless STL, an organization that hosts events and dinners for mothers who have lost their children to gun violence.
"He has to go to a burial site, to see his mother. She can't answer him back. That's the worst feeling ever, don't imagine it. When people say I cannot imagine it ... don't," Erica said.
On Tuesday, Erica was joined by Mayor Jones who has also been affected by gun violence recently - when a child accidentally shot and killed himself in Berkeley, Missouri.
"I've been open about how gun violence has affected my family. The 7-year-old who accidentally shot himself a few weeks ago was my cousin," Mayor Jones said.
The mayor is advocating for the Board of Aldermen to pass what she calls "common sense gun laws."
The bills would among other things ban military-grade weapons, prevent the transfer or sale of guns to minors, and prohibit insurrectionists and people convicted of hate crimes from having guns.
St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy also was in attendance at the roundtable discussion and talked about how important it is to build trust in the community.
"As we have these conversations ... as we work together ... they start seeing the police are part of the community and then they'll come forward and we'll make sure we all keep it safe," Tracy said.
Erica said she appreciated Tuesday's conversation but also said there are still people missing from the discussion.
"It's a lot of grassroot organizations [that] should've been inside this room," Erica said.
The Board of Aldermen return to session on September 15.