KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas, along with mayors from three major Missouri cities, sent a letter Friday to Governor-elect Mike Kehoe asking him to help the state fight crime.
The letter was signed by Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe of Columbia, and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones.
"Prior to the election, a group of Missouri mayors spoke of our hopes for our state moving forward," the letter states." Our top priority, like yours, is to ensure that our residents are safe. To that end, we wanted to reach out to you directly to begin a dialogue about public safety in our metropolitan areas. We know this is important to you."
Mayor Lucas talked with KSHB 41 reporter Abby Dodge earlier this week about his hopes for the state government's help.
"What I hope we see in this next administration and from the Missouri Legislature is something where you’re seeing more support in funding, more support when and if request say from state highway patrol and others, on certain enforcement operations," Lucas said. "You’ve seen that in California helping the city of Oakland seize thousands of stolen vehicles. That’s the sort of cooperation we actually want long-term."
The mayors proposed two ideas in their letter which they agreed would make the state safer, especially for teens.
One would be a change in the law to prohibit minors under 18 from possessing handguns to match federal law, according to a news release from the office of Mayor Lucas.
They also proposed the state improve the reporting system for weapons-related incidents at schools.
That would include a public database that could be accessed by parents, according to the news release.
"Over the summer and fall, reports indicated numerous threats at schools across our state," the letter states. "From Nixa to Kansas City, to Columbia and St. Louis, these threats represent a trend that demands our attention. This led to temporary lockdowns of those schools in some instances and deep fear and anxiety for students and their families. We owe it to ourselves and our state to protect our children."
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