AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin declared June to be "Gun Violence Awareness Month" in the city on Thursday.
Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter presented a proclamation with the declaration to local advocates including representatives from Moms Demand Action, Texas Gun Sense and several others.
“Mass shootings are tragic, senseless and largely preventable, but with this proclamation, I also want to call attention to the less reported-on gun deaths that we see in our community,” Alter said in a release. “Our public safety ecosystem must also look at preventing intimate partner homicides, suicides and accidents caused by improper storage.”
Austin City Council members said government leaders, police and local justice officials need to work together to address violent crime in Austin.
"It is a time when we have a responsibility to act. We can't just look to the federal and the state level and say they're going to fix it by changing our gun laws. We have to do what we can," Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter said.
The proclamation comes a day after city and Travis County leaders participated in a gun violence prevention summit and town hall. It was planned before the recent tragedies in Uvalde, Buffalo and other cities across the country.
Travis County commissioners also declared June last "Gun Violence Awareness Month" at a meeting earlier in the week.
According to a recent report from the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office, guns are the No. 1 cause of both homicides and suicides. In 2021, 80% of all homicides and 48% of all suicides in the county involved guns.
Watch Alter present the declaration and share remarks below:
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