Gun Violence Observation

On November 1, 2016 at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in D.C., there was a legislative hearing on Gun Violence Prevention. The hearing took place at 9:00am, and the purpose of it was to increase sufficient gun legislations to keep communities safer. The hearing also tried to address the needs of the poorer communities and give them a chance to receive trauma counseling. The Chairperson was Michele Goodwin and she was presenting on behalf of the public affairs committee. The main members who were testifying were Mr. Bennett, Dr. Woods, Mr. Cole, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Hatchett, and Mrs. Jefferies. The main members were sitting at a long table while Michelle Goodwin stood at the podium. There was a fairly large audience consisting of males and females of different …show more content…
Meaning, they could have included an active member of the police force to testify giving his perspectives of gun violence. Rather than having a member who was retired from the force because it did not show the violence that police officers themselves have to face on a daily basis. One testimony that was most effective was the videos shared by Mr. Bennett because it gave visual aids of what was currently happening. These testimonies really pulled at peoples’ heartstrings because you could feel the emotional toll that some of these members went through. I felt that my expectations of the legislative hearing were met, and I learned what needs to be changed in order to create safer communities. This experience has led me to believe that issues can be changed as long as people pull together and voice their concerns. However, it is still uncertain what actual policies will stem from this hearing. My last opinion on this hearing was that it seemed to be geared towards the Black Lives Matter Movement, but overall it was interesting and held my attention to the overall problems that need