Gun violence awareness groups from Kansas, Missouri host joint rally on State Line Road

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Groups against gun violence met at 43rd Avenue and State Line Road Thursday night for a joint rally.

The location – State Line Road – was significant as it meant to show unity in the message in both Kansas and Missouri.

“We’ve got to stop the gun violence,” said Rosilyn Temple, the founder of KC Mothers in Charge. “Gun violence is taking our children out. It’s killing people. No one seems to think it’s a problem, but it’s a problem.”

According to the CDC, guns took the lives of 1,489 Missourians and 492 Kansans in 2022. Missouri ranked as the state with the fifth-highest death rate from firearms.

“We’ve had enough, and we are tired of all the gun violence that’s happening,” said Amanda Winch, the co-lead of Johnson County Moms Demand Action.

Winch says a gun found at a local school this week gave her extra motivation to attend the rally on Thursday night – when temperatures hovered around freezing.

“Just a few days ago at Shawnee Mission South there was a gun that got onto school grounds,” Winch said. “That to me, as a parent of children in public schools, is completely unacceptable. We should not be having guns get into our schools.”

READ MORE: Teen pleads not guilty after gun confiscated at Shawnee Mission high school

In Missouri, there have been 139 homicides so far this year compared to 172 at this point a year ago. While the number of deadly shootings in Kansas City is down this year, the number of total shootings is not. Through the end of November, there have been 545 non-deadly shootings reported in Kansas City, a 13% increase from last year.

Temple says while the homicide numbers are down, they are still way too high.

“Every time you take someone’s life, you affect someone. You leave some children behind, families behind,” Temple said. “We are losing lives. These lives matter. We’ve got to do something on both sides of the city, both sides of the state line, to make this violence stop. Put down the guns.”

A detailed look at Kansas City’s homicide statistics can be found here.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.