Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton says there’s never a heads-up regarding a mass shooting. Speaking about Monday’s mass murder in Louisville, Gorton said, quote, “it’s just awful.” The mayor of Kentucky’s second-largest city was asked if she would support a change to allow local governments to set local gun laws.
“I think there could be an argument for that, but what that would result in is different laws all over the state, which sometimes could be problematic, if there’s not something that applies to everyone,” said Gorton.
Gorton said the Lexington Police Department is extremely well-trained and recognized nationally in that area. In Lexington, the mayor said random shootings are up, but violent crimes overall are down 17% from a year ago. The city of Louisville is coping with a mass shooting downtown that resulted in six deaths including the gunman.
Gorton is urging people in authority in public buildings to always be thinking about public safety measures. Gorton said hardening security is not just one thing.
“And sometimes that is, you know, putting something into place right in the entry or, you know, there are different things that need done. It’s a real…it’s kind of an all-encompassing thing when you look at safety of public buildings.”
The shooter in Monday’s mass murder was an employee of Old National Bank. Mayor Gorton said, quote, “Our hearts go out to those families. It’s terrible.” The mayor expressed disappointment that weapons confiscated, including those in horrific crimes like that in Louisville, can’t be destroyed by law. Gorton said most of the weapons go back out on the street through auction.
