Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined local Kalamazoo leaders on Thursday to speak about the importance of gun violence prevention and sign an executive order that re-establishes the Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
The event was held at Edison Academy in Kalamazoo, where several speakers joined Whitmer in giving remarks before she signed the order, which also declared June Gun Violence Prevention Month once again.
"Michiganders are familiar with this pain, as are people in every state in this country. We remember the students who were lost at Oxford High School or at Michigan State University," Whitmer said.
After the event, Whitmer told reporters one of the reasons she came to Kalamazoo for the event was because Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller is on the board of the task force.
"When we started, we started with goals," Fuller said of his time on the task force. " We set goals like: 'what are the root causes?' Finding out the root causes of gun violence, compiling and reporting relevant data, soliciting perspectives from diverse community partners and advocates."
The executive order allows the task force to remain in existence and continue its work. Others who spoke at the event included Michigan Chief Medical Officer Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Darrin Slade, Loy Norrix High School Principal Chris Aguinaga, and Savannah Robert, a recent Loy Norrix graduate and the president of the Loy Norrix chapter of Students Demand Action.
Students, community members, local policymakers and educators also filled the room for the event.
"Just in the last year, places of worship in Grand Blanc and West Bloomfield experienced unimaginable tragedies. Too many communities routinely see devastating headlines of bullets being fired on the streets," Whitmer said.
Whitmer arrived after visiting a picket line in Three Rivers, where American Axle workers are on strike.
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