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The Alabama chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statements in response to three people shot and killed and at least twelve wounded Saturday night in a shooting at a party in Stockton, Alabama.
With reports still emerging, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation division estimated 1,000 people were attending a May Day party near the community of Stockton when an altercation started and gunfire erupted. Most of the victims were “younger people”.
“My heart is absolutely broken for the three lives taken, those that were wounded, and the entire Stockton community that’s grieving from Saturday’s tragedy,” said Makayla Jordan, a volunteer with the Students Demand Action Alabama chapter. “How many more times does gun violence have to shatter moments of joy before our lawmakers take this crisis seriously? This weekend’s mass shooting is just the latest example of young people being gunned down by violence that’s preventable. We don’t want thoughts or prayers. We want action.”
“There’s absolutely no reason why a night out should devolve into gun violence. We’re seeing the gun lobby’s ‘guns everywhere’ agenda play out in real-time in Alabama neighborhoods, and we will continue to hold lawmakers accountable for the role they’ve played in enabling this violence,” said LaKeisha Chestnut, a volunteer with the Alabama chapter of Moms Demand Action.“Our leaders failed to pass stronger gun laws this session, only creating a world where anyone armed with deadly weapons can inflict irreparable damage with the pull of a trigger. We cannot bear the burdens of their inactions any longer.”
Saturday’s tragedy comes as Alabama lawmakers just adjourned their 2024 legislative session last week. HB36, common sense gun reform legislation that would ban the possession of pistols outfitted with devices that convert them into machine guns, passed the House Floor and Senate Judiciary Committee but was not taken up for a vote on the Senate Floor before Sine Die.
Alabama has the fifth-highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S., and the fourth-highest rate of gun homicides and gun injuries. The rate of gun deaths has increased by 54 percent from 2012 to 2021 in Alabama, compared to a 39 percent increase nationwide. Gun violence costs Alabama $15.4 billion each year, of which $421.4 million is paid by taxpayers.
