Resource development director addresses Moms Demand Action meeting
The Hot Springs Chapter of Moms Demand Action hosted its monthly meeting at the Garland County Library on Oct. 1.
The guest speaker was Ashley Thompson, resource development director of the Ouachita Family Center, an advocacy organization providing emergency shelter, advocacy outreach services, legal advocacy, and support services to all victims and children of domestic abuse to live free from family violence.
“According to a new Arkansas Fact Sheet set to be released next month from the Center for American Progress, from 2007 through 2016, 61 women were fatally shot by an intimate partner in Arkansas,” Moms Demand Action said in a news release.
“Of female murder victims in Arkansas, 42 percent are killed by an intimate partner; out of those, 58 percent are killed with a gun. The Fact Sheet, which is based on CAP’s analysis of FBI, ATF and CDC data, states that Arkansas is among the deadliest states for gun violence. From
2008 through 2017, Arkansas had the seventh-highest rate of gun deaths of any state, with a rate of 16.80 gun deaths for every
100,000 people. This rate is 55 percent higher than the national average,” the release said.
“These statistics are staggering and are one of the many reasons that our organization exists,” Hayden Shamel, the local chapter leader, said in the release. “We urge our legislators to pass universal background checks and strong red flag laws. These are common-sense measures that will help create stronger, safer communities where our families work and live.”
Moms Demand Action is a nationwide, nonpartisan grassroots movement to mobilize moms, families and everyday Americans to advocate for stronger gun laws, the release said. The local chapter meets at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month at the Garland County Library.
Its November meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5 and will feature a guest speaker from the Hot Springs Police Department. At the November meeting, the organization will also accept donations of bottles of shampoo and travel-sized suitcase for the Ouachita Family Center.