Multnomah Gun Violence Prompts County Leaders To Hold Town Hall

PORTLAND, OR — Dr. Lisa Reynolds has been a pediatrician in Portland for a quarter-century. In that role, she has seen countless patients, almost always asking parents about whether there's a gun in their house and, if so, whether it's kept safe.

Rep. Lisa Reynolds represents Portland and has advocated for gun safety since taking office. Earlier this year, she made it clear that she's not anti-gun, just that she believes that the state "can have it both ways: keep a gun from getting in the hands of a child, or from someone in crisis – and have swift access to that gun should an owner need it to protect their family or property."

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Over the weekend, the two Lisas (really the same person) came together and co-hosted a town hall meeting to address the rising gun violence in the region. In the past few weeks, Portland alone has set new records for the number of shootings and number of homicides.

She was joined by Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese and District Attorney Mike Schmidt.

Rep. Maxine Dexter, who co-hosted the event, reminded people that each of the people killed this year had families that have seen their hopes and dreams damaged by violence.

"This increase in gun violence has been a topic concern for many of us," Dexter said. "These issues are connected. We are seeing income disparity more than we’ve ever seen since the great depression."