Quavo talks with VP Kamala Harris about gun-violence prevention: 'I need to step up to the plate'
Covering Kamala Harris,Homepage News
Carlos De LoeraSept. 22, 2023
Quavo
is getting very serious about gun-violence prevention.
Less than a year after his nephew and former bandmate Takeoff was
shot and killed fatally shot
in Houston, the “Walk It Talk It” rapper met with Vice President
Kamala Harris
and
other
members of Congress this week to advocate against gun violence.
Takeoff, whose real name
was is Kirshnik Khari Ball
,
died after being was
shot multiple times on Nov. 1, 2022, outside a Houston bowling alley. Takeoff was an innocent bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Houston police said at the time
of his death
.
He The 28-year-old
was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was 28.
Quavo joined in on a panel put on by the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss the issue. He was accompanied by his sister and Takeoff’s mother, Titania Davenport.
Officials seek information after Migos rapper Takeoff, 28, dies in Houston shooting
I feel like your calling comes at the least expected times … You dont think nothing is going to happen,” he told the caucus
, per the
Associated Press. “I need to step up to the plate and hit a home run. I have to do something about it, so it wont happen to the masses especially in our culture. I dont want this to happen to the next person. I want to knock down these percentages.
Democratic
Sen.
Raphael Warnock
,
D-Ga.;
Rep.
Lucy McBath
,
the Georgia Democrat
who lost her son due to gun violence
;
and
Greg Jackson
of the Community Justice Action Fund were present at the panel that
was centered around focused on
community-led intervention strategies against gun violence.
We need to do better with the control of guns, Quavo continued. We need to figure out how do we keep these types of incidents from happening to people going anywhere and thinking they can hurt somebody where it shouldnt happen.
The “Bad and Boujee” artist pondered two main questions: How do we use guns safely, and how do we keep them “out of the hands of people that make bad decisions.”
‘My heart is shattered’: Band mates Offset and Quavo honor Migos rapper Takeoff
Im kind of in a half-and-half place. Even police have guns,” he said. “Unfortunately, some of the people in our culture and loved ones have been lost to police brutality. Its all about choices and how we can put a filter on who can use these guns.
Jackson praised Quavo for using his status as a cultural figure to put pressure on lawmakers to advocate for change on
such an important the
issue.
Its what we need, Jackson said
, according to the AP
. With gun violence, in order to change it, we have to change the behavior just as aggressively as we focus on safety and ownership and access. But we cant change behavior if our communities dont have the resources they need, and our youth is being overlooked and forgotten.
Takeoff’s mother sues Houston bowling alley where he was killedPrior to taking visiting Capitol Hill,
Quavo
in 2022 had
helped set up the Rocket Foundation, an organization centered around funding
programs that are
“
programs which are
saving lives through proven, community-based solutions to prevent gun violence.” The charitable body was founded in honor of Takeoff
in 2022
.
The thing Quavo most emphasized during his talk
Wednesday
was the need for more resources in underfunded communities.
I feel like after going to the White House, I need resources, he said. I need a bag of goodies, so I can take back and say
,
Here, this is for the culture. We have that extension cord. We are plugged into that type of environment. I dont think no one else in our stature is that connected. In order for things to change, we need resources.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
