Broward Residents Gather In Cooper City For Town Hall On Gun Control
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COOPER CITY (CBSMiami) – Another difficult conversation about gun violence took place Thursday night in Broward County.
This as we approach three months since the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Three local members of Congress led the discussion before a rather large crowd, described as a congregation with a conscious, all wanting change to gun laws.
The Jewish community is a big one in Broward County and it's the first time they're talking about a national tragedy that happened in their backyard.
An estimated 300 people missed their family dinner to talk at a town hall at Temple Beth Emet in Cooper City.
"People have to come to the table, they have to sit down, and they really have to come up with answers because this is about our families, this is about keeping our communities safe," said Beth Emet President Howard Lipman.
Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schulz, Ted Deutsch and Alcee Hastings came out to Cooper City to educate the crowd about gun reform and what's been done so far.
To the audience's dismay, politicians say not much.
"I wish I could say that the answer to your question is that we've passed something significant that we've moved the ball down the field in a big way," said Wasserman Schultz. "We have not."
"I counted in the newspapers today," Hastings added. "Eight deaths by guns in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, we have an epidemic of gun violence"
Fred Guttenberg was a familiar face in the crowd; he lost his 14-yr-old daughter Jamie on that fatal day in February.
He's come to a number of these events to talk gun reform and acknowledged there have been far too many forums.
"The fact that there have been a lot of them, is the reason why I'm doing this," Guttenberg said. "It's the reason I'm not gonna stop, it is the reason why I am going to break the back of that gun lobby and were going to get something done in this country."
From politicians to adults, a few temple members in the crowd told CBS4 this was their first town hall meeting ever.
They have friends at Stoneman Douglas High School and to them, getting involved in a national conversation about gun control is necessary.
"All the kids that are at Stoneman Douglas that are so strong and saying all these amazing things, it makes me want to do that too because we're kids and we should have a voice," said Western High School sophomore Gaby Krotowski.
"Honestly, when I see these things on the TV, I never imagine it can happen here and it did, and that really pushed me to make a change and do something," said Western junior Morgan Rubin.
That something is registering to vote.
Both those girls say they registered on Wednesday, encouraged to do so after hearing the conversations around gun reform and wanting to make a difference.
