Lexington’s Anita Franklin believes in talking about gun control, gun storage, and gun safety. Franklin, who lost her son, Antonio, to gun violence in 2104 is a local leader for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
She says the impact of the most recent mass shooting at a California nightclub is broad. “You have to remember, there is a whole lot of victims now. Not just the ones who lost their lives. The person that sold that young man the gun, people that witnessed the crime, the families of the victims that perished at the crime scene. So, our numbers continue to grow,” said Franklin.
Franklin said respect for gun use is much different today than when she was growing up. She said grew up with guns in her house. “And I used to marvel at the beauty of guns. But, we knew not to touch them. And we have a different set of people raising children and the morals and values are not the same. And so, we have to adjust what we’re doing, and what we advocate for because of the change of time. It’s 2018,” explained Franklin.
WEKU contacted representatives with the National Rifle Association and two sportsman clubs in Kentucky. They declined to comment for this story.