Tri-County gun violence council recruiting for study

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Tri-County Gun Violence Coordinating Council, in partnership with the College of Charleston, are looking for people to participate in a gun violence study.

College of Charleston and Tri-County Gun Violence Coordinating Council officials said they are looking for people to participate in 30-minute, one-on-one interviews to discuss potential solutions to community gun violence.

College of Charleston Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee to Curb Gun Violence Sarah Maness said during the one-on-one interviews research staff will ask each participant what they think the most important issues involving gun violence in the tri-county area are. They will then list several initiatives or potential solutions and ask the participant whether they think these different ideas would work in the tri-county area.

She said it is important to work from a place that’s coming from the actual needs and desires of the community.

“The community are the people who are out in their everyday lives being exposed to and experiencing gun violence. So, we want to make sure solutions come with the input of people who are experiencing it,” Maness said.

Chair of the Tri-County Gun Violence Coordinating Council Butch Kennedy said the goal of these interviews is to find solutions to gun violence that the majority of people agree with.

“We can get democrats and republicans together; and we can find things we disagree upon all day long,” Kennedy said. “But when we find those items that we agree upon, we can actually move forward.”

He said that way, when they take these ideas to legislators, law enforcement, or school boards, they are bringing ideas that the entire community is behind, and they have strength in numbers.

Anyone 18 years or older who lives in the Tri-County area is eligible to participate. Researchers want to speak to a mix of community members, law enforcement and elected officials.

“You can’t really say that every voice matters and not really listen to every voice, right? Just saying ‘this is my idea, and this is what I think we should be doing,’ no, that’s not what we want to do here,” Kennedy said. “We want to hear the community’s take, and we want the community’s input.”

Selected participants will receive a 30-dollar gift card. If you are interested in participating, click here.

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