JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gun rights have been a controversial debate for more than a decade.
“It’s going to be horrendously crazy if we can’t get a stop in this," said Pastor Billy Brock Jr. He left his pulpit and walked around neighborhoods with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to knock on known gang members door as part of JSO’s violence reduction strategy.
Today the U.S Supreme Court made a major decision that will allow Americans to have the right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.
A decision that isn’t sitting well with local anti-gun violence groups including operation Save Our Sons.
“There should be restrictions, rules and tests we need to have so we can be responsible gun owners," said Alphonso Mccleandon, chairperson of board of directors for operation Save Our Sons.
The supreme court’s ruling is expected to affect about a quarter of the U.S. population in states with stricter gun laws like New York.
Tom King, President of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association told the Associated Press that he was relieved by the Supreme Court's decision, "Maybe now we'll start going after criminals and perpetrators of these heinous acts."
“We've got to have common sense now because the things it affects most are neighborhoods of color. That's who is going to be in jeopardy. The Constitution needs to be revised because that Constitution wasn’t written for all people," said Mccleandon.
Before the Supreme Court's decision, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that he would sign a bill that would allow people to carry concealed guns without needing licenses.
In Georgia, it is lawful for gun owners to carry a firearm in public without a permit.