Early Friday, bill co-sponsors Senator Whitney Westerfield and Senator David Yates, alongside Whitney/Strong Organization’s Executive Director Whitney Austin, took to the Frankfort Capitol Rotunda pushing hope and momentum for the enacting of CARR, or Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention, in 2025 and beyond.
For context, this week marked the one-year anniversary of the deadly mass shooting at Old National Bank. And yet, the 2024 Kentucky Legislative Session took no steps to keep this kind of violence from happening again.
Following statewide polling commissioned by Whitney/Strong, Westerfield said key findings revealed that an overwhelming majority of Republican primary voters in the Commonwealth support “reasonable, common ground gun safety legislation like CARR.”
Per the analysis:
— By a 76% to 17% margin, GOP primary voters think lawmakers should work to prevent gun violence, including working to keep Kentuckians going through mental health crisis from harming themselves or others.
— This belief resonated through every constituency, 72% to 20% for very conservative voters, 71% to 21% for Trump supporters, 83% to 11% for urban voters, 78% to 18% for suburban voters, 72% to 17% for rural voters, 74% to 18% for gun owners, and 74% to 18% for supporters of the National Rifle Association.
— Nearly 75% of GOP primary voters also support CARR, and by an impressive 72% to 20% support-oppose ratio, voters support a new Commonwealth law that would permit Kentucky law enforcement to temporarily transfer firearms from a person who presents a danger to themselves or others.
According to advocates, Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention Orders do “exactly what they say,” where they “prevent tragedy, while protecting an individual’s right to own firearms.” They also allow gun owners and those with access to guns be temporarily separated from firearms in a moment of crisis.
The next step, officials said, is simple: next year’s legislature must listen to the will of the people, and that this time next year, Kentuckians will be gathering to celebrate the passage of this “landmark legislation.”