The Steven Reed era of Montgomery has had its share of ups and downs since Reed assumed the role of mayor in 2019, including spikes in gun violence.
During an appearance on Monday's broadcast of Alabama Public Television's "Capitol Journal," Reed called on the Alabama Legislature to pass so-called common sense gun legislation to help his city tackle the problem.
Reed, who is seeking reelection later this year, tied his city's woes to the constitutional carry law passed last year and the gun show loophole.
"I certainly think there could be," he said. "I think common sense is within reach," he said. "We're seeing some other southern state legislatures approach this right now. I think there is a middle ground to be gained there so that we don't have to continue pointing the finger at either side. Let's figure out what's the difference between someone who is going out to hunt recreationally, even someone who feels like they have a right to carry a handgun. I understand that. But I think we want to make sure that we don't continue to see the permitless carry-type bills, which all of our law enforcement community was against. Our mayors were against those bills."
"And guess what — the legislators don't get those calls," Reed continued. "The police chief gets the call. The sheriff gets the call. The mayors get the calls. Those are some of the things we can do. And then we also have to make sure we're closing any loopholes that may exist around gun shows. How do we make sure that a bad actor or bad actors aren't using that as cover? And I think there are a couple of tweaks we can utilize, and gun shows can still be as successful and as profitable as they are for those businesses that rely on them but also close some of those loopholes that some of the folks are utilizing to buy those guns in places for people that they shouldn't."
Reed also said other factors contributed to the capital city's gun crime woes, including glock switches and stolen firearms.
Jeff Poor is the executive editor of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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