CHICAGO, IL – Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden sent an email seeking assistance in the city’s effort to reduce violent crime.
In an email, she highlighted a proposal from a community group called Native Sons. The proposal is called “the People’s Ordinance.”
One of the items the proposal asks is for gang members in Chicago not shoot people between the hours of 9:00 am and 9:00 pm.
“We have to start somewhere,” Tatiana Atkins, co-founder of Native Sons, told CWB Chicago. “Our goal is to approach our city’s gun violence problem strategically and not all at once. Things didn’t become this way overnight, and change won’t happen overnight.“
Under this ordinance, we ask that people stop associating with and glorifying ’shooters,’ stop glorifying ‘switches,’ and stop wearing those ski masks everywhere which perpetuates you as some ‘opp.' When those who live a certain lifestyle try to hang with ‘regular’ class citizens, they put everyone at risk.”
Alderwoman Hadden is said to be supportive of the initiative, but did not respond to an email from CWB Chicago.
While the hope is that all criminal gun violence would stop, Atkins said that she knows that is not realistic.
“Not everyone is willing to drop their beef,” she said. “If you aren’t mentally and emotionally equipped to solve disputes in a healthy manner, if you can’t help but harm each other – do so in a capacity in which children, elderly and those not involved in high-risk activities are less likely to be affected.”
Atkins also said that she hopes gang members will adopt the hours of cease fire, which, in return, will encourage parents to have their kids inside prior to the 9:00 pm deadline when the shootings start back up.
“At the end of the day," she said, "five-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, 14-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, 78-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, pregnant women are being killed by gun violence, young boys with bright futures are being killed by gun violence, fathers are being killed by gun violence, and this shouldn’t be happening."
It is worth noting that, even though they use the word ordinance in this initiative, no laws or actual ordinances have been enacted by the city.
While that aspect is not lost on Atkins, she said they still need to do something. “We are not waiting for a bill or law to enforce what we feel needs to be done – this is a movement being carried along by social media and the media.”
Atkins also claims to have reached out to numerous members of gangs and pitched the cease fire proposal to them, saying she “had more positive feedback than negative and have even had some of them post this ordinance to their social media as well.”
The New York Post pointed out that last weekend 23 people were shot across Chicago, with four of those shootings being fatal. The previous weekend, seven people were killed, including an eight-year-old girl.
In an email, she highlighted a proposal from a community group called Native Sons. The proposal is called “the People’s Ordinance.”
One of the items the proposal asks is for gang members in Chicago not shoot people between the hours of 9:00 am and 9:00 pm.
“We have to start somewhere,” Tatiana Atkins, co-founder of Native Sons, told CWB Chicago. “Our goal is to approach our city’s gun violence problem strategically and not all at once. Things didn’t become this way overnight, and change won’t happen overnight.“
Under this ordinance, we ask that people stop associating with and glorifying ’shooters,’ stop glorifying ‘switches,’ and stop wearing those ski masks everywhere which perpetuates you as some ‘opp.' When those who live a certain lifestyle try to hang with ‘regular’ class citizens, they put everyone at risk.”
Alderwoman Hadden is said to be supportive of the initiative, but did not respond to an email from CWB Chicago.
While the hope is that all criminal gun violence would stop, Atkins said that she knows that is not realistic.
“Not everyone is willing to drop their beef,” she said. “If you aren’t mentally and emotionally equipped to solve disputes in a healthy manner, if you can’t help but harm each other – do so in a capacity in which children, elderly and those not involved in high-risk activities are less likely to be affected.”
Atkins also said that she hopes gang members will adopt the hours of cease fire, which, in return, will encourage parents to have their kids inside prior to the 9:00 pm deadline when the shootings start back up.
“At the end of the day," she said, "five-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, 14-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, 78-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, pregnant women are being killed by gun violence, young boys with bright futures are being killed by gun violence, fathers are being killed by gun violence, and this shouldn’t be happening."
It is worth noting that, even though they use the word ordinance in this initiative, no laws or actual ordinances have been enacted by the city.
While that aspect is not lost on Atkins, she said they still need to do something. “We are not waiting for a bill or law to enforce what we feel needs to be done – this is a movement being carried along by social media and the media.”
Atkins also claims to have reached out to numerous members of gangs and pitched the cease fire proposal to them, saying she “had more positive feedback than negative and have even had some of them post this ordinance to their social media as well.”
The New York Post pointed out that last weekend 23 people were shot across Chicago, with four of those shootings being fatal. The previous weekend, seven people were killed, including an eight-year-old girl.
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