McClellan holds youth roundtable to address gun violence and firearm access in Henrico and Richmond

“Has anybody here lost a person to gun violence?”

Several people at the roundtable raised their hands after a youngster who had recently graduated from Richmond’s Huguenot High School posed the question last month during a youth roundtable event hosted by U.S. Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (D-Fourth District). Only a few months ago, Huguenot seniors and their families witnessed a shooting at their graduation ceremony that killed two people.

“I’ve lost a couple of people to gun violence,” the youth said. “I lost one of my best friends to gun violence – shot in broad daylight.”

The Sept. 8 roundtable in Richmond also included about a dozen leaders and civil servants from Richmond and Henrico County and was designed to address firearm violence in the area. Many participants emphasized the need for more continuous federal funding for programs that address the root causes of gun violence and more bipartisan support for limiting access to firearms.

Henrico Police Chief Eric English said that easy access to firearms is one of the major causes of gun violence in the Richmond area. Youngsters often will show off their guns on social media to create an image of themselves that deflects weakness, English said.

“I think it goes back to access. It’s very easy access to firearms,” he said. “For our kids it’s seen as a status symbol. You don’t want to be seen as someone weak. Kids are not afraid to show themselves on social media holding a host of firearms.”

Henrico Schools has witnessed several incidents in the past few years during which students have brought firearms to school. Henrico also has witnessed several recent shootings that have taken the lives of residents, including youngsters.

Richmond has also seen multiple recent shootings that involved youth, including the fatal shooting at Hugenot’s graduation ceremony in June and recent shootings that killed two students from Virginia State University.

McClellan, who was sworn into Congress March 7 after winning a special election, said House Democrats have introduced several bills to limit firearm access and to fund more programs that address the root causes of gun violence, but Republican members of the Freedom Caucus have prevented these bills from moving out of committees.

“It’s gonna be hard,” she said. “There are 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats, but there are 12 members of Congress who have brought the culture wars in all its forms, including their view that the 2nd Amendment means the exact same right for everybody to have whatever gun they want and use it however they want, to the appropriations process.”

Virginia residents do not need a permit to purchase firearms, and with the exception of machine guns, are not required to to register their firearms. Residents must present a government-issued photo ID and undergo a background check.

McClellan also addressed concerns about gun violence at a Sept. 6 town hall meeting held at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College attended by more than 70 people.

Roundtable participants also emphasized the importance of early intervention strategies to target youth and children who feel disconnected from their communities and who suffer from mental health struggles.

“People who don't feel a part of a community don’t see the value in conflict resolution skills,” one participant said. “I think a lot of our energy has to start very early. It can’t be at 18 when kids have already made decisions that have changed the trajectory of their lives.”

For many early intervention and violence prevention programs, the problem isn’t securing federal funding, instead it is securing continuous federal funding over many years instead of just “one-time dollars,” participants said.

“Multi-year funding is really really important, as well as the research that shows exactly what is working,” one participant said. “And when we’re talking about federal dollars, there are so many hoops to jump through – not just to get them but to keep them.”

Youth at the roundtable also spoke to how gun violence can traumatize entire communities.

“It’s not even safe for people to send off their kids to college or people to go around to the corner store or people to come to events because you’re so worried about somebody being stupid enough to bring a gun and start shooting up everything,” one youth said.

Several youngsters said they supported increasing background checks and mental health screenings to curb access to firearms. One youth also suggested that schools in Henrico and Richmond provide students and families with a resource sheet that lists all of the intervention programs available to them.

McClellan said the roundtable would be the “beginning of the conversation” about gun violence in the area and that the conversation should continue to be “youth-centered.”

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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.