TULSA, Okla — The community gathered in the Greenwood District July 1 to discuss a plan to stop gun violence in Tulsa.
Tulsans all had different viewpoints and ideas they wanted to address.
WATCH: Deep Greenwood Foundation organizes meeting surrounding gun violence:
Judy Eason McIntyre, former state senator and lifelong Tulsan is a board member of the Deep Greenwood Foundation.
“As a lifelong resident of North Tulsa, this is my community," she said. “I am a constituent, and I am concerned about safety.”
She said she decided to come to the meeting in hopes of collaborating with her community to reach a solution to gun violence.
“I do want to hear from other people because I think people have ideas and maybe some things that I haven’t thought of," she said. "I’m anxious to hear what people have to say.”
While McIntyre said there’s no one solution, she emphasized that cooperation is key.
“I know that there has to be, for starters, a commitment," she said. "A collective commitment on the part of the city, the mayor, the people on all sides.”
Heather Nash, Executive Director of the Deep Greenwood Foundation, agreed, “This is a business district that people come down to get permitted to do activities on, and we’ve kind of been left with the aftermath of what happened," she said.
She said she wanted the community to feel like they could openly express their ideas and opinions and present them to the city council.
“What we’re doing today is important," said Nash. "I think that us being able to stress our concerns and come up with ideas to help the city be able to check and balance events that come down here and we have a seat at that table, I think that is so important.”
Community members came up with ideas and concerns they plan to bring to the city council to help devise a long-term solution to gun violence happening in Tulsa.
They want:
- A public safety strategy tailored to district events
- Updated permitting guidelines that prioritize coordination
- Transparent oversight and community input
Many of these include enforcing the curfew, substance abuse, and homelessness.
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