|
Listen to this article here
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
At Wednesday’s Tulsa City Council meeting, leaders voted 7-1 to enact an emergency youth curfew requiring anyone under 18 to be home by 9 p.m. in response to a Juneteenth shooting that left one person dead and several others injured. But let’s be honest: this policy may make some feel safer, but it doesn’t address the real threat of gun violence.
The gunman who opened fire last weekend, 19-year-old Timetrious Moore, was too old for the youth curfew. A 9 p.m. restriction on minors wouldn’t have stopped him. So why wasn’t gun violence the main focus of the meeting?
At that same council session, two very different conversations unfolded. Business owners pushed for a youth curfew, citing rowdy teens disrupting their establishments. Meanwhile, Black and Brown residents voiced deeper fears: that the ordinance would lead to racial profiling, harassment, or unnecessary police contact. Everyone agrees we want our kids to be safe. No one wants to fear getting shot while enjoying a summer festival. But targeting youth behavior without addressing gun access misses the mark.
Oklahoma is an open-carry state. Anyone 21 or older can legally carry a firearm openly or concealed without a permit. Moore broke the law. But had he been just two years older, he could’ve legally carried that same weapon. Then what?
Since Mayor Nichols took office, nearly 900 illegal guns have been removed from Tulsa’s streets. That progress matters, but it’s only part of the picture.
Guns are part of the American culture, regardless of skin color — from childhood toys to adult realities. My first was a water gun from the dollar store. Then came a Super Soaker. Now, I own real firearms—but I handle them responsibly.
The problem is, not every gun owner does.
We’ve watched mass shootings unfold across the country. We prayed, donated, and then moved on. But this time, it didn’t happen somewhere else. It happened here at home. A father is dead. People, including the elderly and children, were trampled in the chaos. And as one survivor told us, “I never thought I’d be able to say I survived a mass shooting.”
That stopped me cold.
The Gun Violence Archive [GVA], an independent research and data collection organization, has classified the incident that happened at Tulsa Juneteenth as a mass shooting event.
District 1 City Councilor and festival co-founder Vanessa Hall-Harper stated that the Juneteenth Festival followed the City of Tulsa’s permitting process, with a pre-approved security plan that included more than 40 personnel, including off-duty police officers and licensed armed guards, consistent with best practices for events of its size.
However, at a Monday press conference, Tulsa Police Chief Dennis Larsen said even more security may not have prevented the shooting, as officers were just feet away when it started.
So, what’s the solution?
Yesterday, I spoke with a friend. I shared how in many cities, outdoor events like Pride festivals or jazz concerts now require security checkpoints and fenced perimeters. He told me that ever since the Tree of Life shooting, he passes through security measures just to enter the synagogue.
“My friend, I never thought we’d grow up to deal with all of this,” I said.
We remember Columbine. Back then, that mass shooting was an anomaly and not the norm.
But this is our reality now. This summer, it was Tulsa Juneteenth. This fall, it could be Oktoberfest or the State Fair. Next year, Mayfest.
As a city, we must be proactive. Events like Legacy Fest, Oktoberfest, Tulsa Juneteenth, the Biker Rally, and others deserve full city-backed security not just for peace of mind, but for public safety and a matter of equity.
Everyone deserves to live in or visit a city where safety is a right, not a privilege. Tulsa has the potential to be an international destination, but we won’t get there if we keep penny-pinching on public safety and pretending that curfews are the answer.
I propose that the Tulsa City Council engage in a real, focused conversation about gun violence. The passage of a youth curfew may have helped businesses feel heard, but it didn’t confront the crisis that brought us there in the first place, which is America’s gun epidemic.
If we’re serious about keeping our community safe, we can’t just treat the symptoms; we have to start curing the disease.
I live in tulsa, born here, lived in ny & florida (when fla was a real state), 73 a bleeding heart liberal democrat, an xcon with my rights restored, i keep a shotgun in the front closet.
That said, ive been hearing out of the mouths of power peeps in this town, “tulsa has one of the best police departments in the country.” To say THAT you have to be naive as hell! For example, a “best” police dept would have shown their presence at juneteenth, PERIOD! They have an electric bike patrol, THEY should have been there mingling (they were at mayfest), or simply strolling the streets visiting with all the guests with their TWO FEET! They were at mayfest.my point, there is more to policing than a pistola and a GET THE FUCK DOWN! Lest we NOT forget what the juneteenth celebration is and the horrible ACT this city is known for! I make sure i attend at least one night (day) of that event, i motored around fri night on my ebike . I failed to mention, im a white man.
This is, has been a racist city, no number of uncle tom black police chiefs or a black democrat mayor is going to change that, god knows i had my go around with the last chief when that officer at the neighborhood watch training, blurted out the biggest enemy of this community was the old white guy liberal. Yup, chief suspended him, should have fired him, IM THAT GUY, I ADORN MY HOME & FENCE ON S YALE WITH LIBERAL SIGNS & FLAGS 24/7/365! SO, i beg of any of you fine citizens, what was the disposition of that case? They wouldnt tell moi! I have more examples.
We are a divided community, not only by race but ideology, hell we’ve got Roger Stone & General Flynn running around to white nationalist churchs in this city every other week!
My point, our community is no different than the country as a whole, cry as we may about gun violence, it is an epidemic country wide, its now extended 2 generations, its quite obvious we, as a nation, want to live sick! Unfortunately, it starts at the cradle, not at 16 years old.
WISE up mayor, council men & women, you know WHO i am, i supported a few of you, i still do. You can make all the curfews you want against the youth in our city, IT WONT WORK, THEY WILL FIND A WAY TO REBEL, hell we did back in the 60s &70s YOU CALLED US HIPPIES!
TRY a little tenderness and acceptance once in a while, YOU mingle with the kids! Where they ARE, dont be scared, they will love the ‘lac you pull up in! Ask them, what is that red bandana? What is that blue bandana? Why is that crown tattooed on your arm? Invite “them” to dinner, feed them, show some ??, find out what makes a kid tick, dont be scared, kids need love, kids need attention, kids need to feel safe, if YOU dont provide it, BELIEVE ME there are some out there THAT WILL! THATis why we are in this mess anyway!
Ill be dead in the next 10 yrs, yes, I left you one helluva mess to clean up, i dont have the answers! All i have is ideas, and a compassionate heart.
GL