“He is always 18,” said Latasha Hobbs as she remembered her son Maurice who was gunned down last year just two days after his birthday.
After a spray of bullets inside the Jacksonville Landing on Sunday took the lives of three - including the gunman - and injured eleven people, Hobbs found strength Monday from other parents of gun violence victims and a Florida gubernatorial candidate.
“We are mothers who stand for ‘No Justice, No Peace” after our children were brutally murdered,” said 54-year-old Cecilia Shepard. Her son, Keegan Roberts, was confronted by a neighbor who shot and killed Shepard’s 22-year-old son.
Shepard said she has made multiple calls for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to arrest the neighbor but so far no arrest has been made in the case.
She believes law enforcement hasn’t arrested the neighbor because he may be claiming the shooting was justified under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
Monday a group of mothers, student activists and supporters of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris King gathered in front of Jacksonville City Hall to raise awareness and voice their support for King.
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King said Florida voters want to hear more than thoughts and prayers. He said they are demanding proactive measures against gun violence.
“We have a big idea called the ‘Every Kid’s Fund for Gun Violence Prevention,’ which in part is a multi-facet attack on gun violence [and] has a bullet tax component to it,” said the first-time candidate.
A bullet tax is one of King’s proposals to impose a “safety fee” on bullet purchases to fund violence prevention and treatment programs.
King, who was wearing an orange ribbon in remembrance of gun violence victims, said the arrest of Michael Drejka in a Florida Stand Your Ground case brings hope for future gun reform.
King’s opponent, former Congresswoman Gwen Graham was also in Jacksonville Monday, addressing the shooting at the Mary Singleton Center.
Among those attending was State Representative Tracie Davis, who has endorsed Graham and several Jacksonville City Council members.
“We need to talk about how to provide appropriate security across the State of Florida, but it could be security without addressing other issues as well,” said Graham, adding, “it has to be a multi-pronged approach” against gun violence.
Graham said when studying the issue she consulted two of the men she trusts most for advice: Her father, former Florida Governor Bob Graham and her husband, who has a background in law enforcement.
During her time as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives she joined her Democratic colleagues to stage a sit-in on the House floor and force a vote on a “No Fly, No Buy” bill, which would have barred terror suspects on the no-fly list from purchasing guns.
Other Democratic gubernatorial candidates Phillip Levine and Jeff Greene also campaigned in Jacksonville Monday.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Ron DeSantis and Adam Putnam cancelled their Jacksonville campaign stops following the mass shooting at the Landing.
“It’s considered to be a norm sadly in Jacksonville, Florida with everyday gun violence,” said Hobbs who was standing inseparably with Shepard.
They haven’t received the answers they’re looking for surrounding the deaths of their children. However, they said this November’s election has brought them more hope for solutions and fewer tragedies.
