In the wake of what has already been a violent summer, a group of clergy leaders from around the country gathered in New York City to find solutions to gun violence.
Rev. Kyev Tatum, from Fort Worth, who brings insight from the aftermath of the mass shooting in Uvalde, is one of the people gathered for “Clergy for Safe Cities.”
“There have to be people in place with the skillset, not just to work with those on the ground, but also work with those in public policy,” Rev. Tatum said. “Not only work with those in public policy, but also with those who have resources to help make things work at are non-government related.”
The ecumenical group from different groups and backgrounds hope their different experiences can help develop actionable plans.
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“Some practical, reasonable, sensible solutions to help cities and neighborhoods across the nation solve this gun violence issue. What I’ve seen and worked with here in New York is just unbelievable,” Tatum said.
While the group gathered over the weekend, the violence continued. At least 12 people were killed across the nation with mass shootings in both Philadelphia and Chattanooga, TN. It’s a reminder that the work continues.
“We were talking about this and it’s the same thing. Whether it’s Buffalo or Uvalde, where we’ve dealt with the issues there, clergy want to do something because they have the heart and compassion to do it,” Tatum said. “The challenge is, they don’t know what to do. So, you have a conglomerate of clergymen from around the nation that are addressing these issues, you can glean from each other, and you can also lean on each other.”
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Tatum hopes to hold a gathering of North Texas clergy members later this week in Fort Worth to tackle gun violence on a local level.
