State legislators speak against gun violence at Wichita rally

State Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau stood in front of the Parents of Murdered Children Memorial in North Riverside Park on Thursday and spoke to a crowd of about 25 gathered for a rally.

“We shouldn’t have this memorial,” she said. “But this is happening every day.”

The rally, titled “Whatever It Takes,” was one of many that took place across the country Thursday as a response to the on-camera murders of WBDJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and her cameraman Adam Ward. The goal of the rally was to encourage people to push for “common sense gun laws,” organizers said.

“We’ve just got to get our elected officials to do something about it,” said state Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita. “We’ve got to start getting in their faces about it. They’re aware of these issues. They know about everything that we’re talking about today, but obviously somewhere there’s a disconnect.”

Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, said she will be pushing to amend Senate Bill 45 during the next legislative session, scheduled to start in January. The bill, passed this past session, allows for “constitutional carry” of guns without requiring a license.

“We enact bills all the time that we come back later and amend – that’s what I’m hoping to do,” she said.

She said that, as a single mother of two children, she agrees that people have the right to defend themselves.

“I’m all for the right to carry, but we need to have proper training, background checks, so that we are carrying safely,” she said.

Finney said Moms Demand Action, the group that organized the rally on Thursday night, needs to start taking matters into its own hands – driving up to Topeka to be “up there on the steps” of the Capitol, “telling them this is important to all of us.”

She suggested the group host its own town hall meetings and invite state representatives to attend.

“If they don’t show up, that’s telling you something right then and there,” Finney said. “If they’re your representative, they need to have their butts there. Some in our Legislature act like they’re too busy. Well, if you’re too busy to come and be accountable, to answer these questions, then maybe you’re too busy to be in office.”

For more information about Moms Demand Action, visit its website at www.momsdemandaction.org.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 8:53 PM with the headline "State legislators speak against gun violence at Wichita rally."