The Bedford County Democratic Women hosted Linda McFadyen-Ketchum, a volunteer Co-Lead for State Legislative Work for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Alongside McFayden-Ketchum was also Anna Caudill, who was good friends with Katherine Koonce, the headmaster of The Covenant School who was killed during the March mass shooting.

Wearing a “Survivor” advocate button, Caudill retold the story of how she met Koonce, whom she referred to as Katherine. Caudill credits Koonce with encouraging her to become a special needs advocate, even in adopting two special needs children from China. “Katherine inspired that,” she said.

But the support she found in Koonce “ended with one shooter.”

“Three months ago and two hours ago, she engaged a young woman in a mental health crisis in the middle of the hallway to buy her children more time and buy her staff more time…and she died as a result of that,” said Caudill.

“I’m learning because of losing Katherine that I have to speak up. I don’t think we can afford to lose people like that.”

McFayden-Ketchum said, “I am a small-town girl. I grew up in a place much like Shelbyville. I know the benefits of small communities—and the drawback. And we’re very, very interested in finding out what your thoughts and feeling are about our gun violence epidemic.”

The discussion, which was held at the Woodfork Chapel AME Church, opened up questions such as “Are you worried about gun violence? And, if you had a magic wand, what is one thing you would change?"

The group collectively said, “Banning assault rifles and military-style weapons.”

“If they would just ban those AR-14s (sic)…until we change that, I just can’t see the change. I’m emotionally upset,” said one of the attendees. “You can have a shotgun, a handgun, that’s your right. But not a weapon that’s military.”

Another attendee commented, “I was raised in a household of hunters and we were taught great respect for guns and what they were for and what they were not for…We weren’t dealing with the mental health issues and stressors of today…So having to navigate between…honoring their right to hunt and then on the other side trying to navigate…the conversation of ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people.’”

“I’m not taking anyone’s gun away. They might shoot me if I try,” said one attendee. “But the point is, AR-15s, or whatever they are, they can keep them, and the way we pay is all these children are just collateral damage. Doesn’t anybody see that?”

The group tossed around ideas such as putting in metal detectors at schools, repealing permit-less carry, voluntary buy-backs, and making it as “hard for people to get guns as it is for people to pass the citizenship test to become an American.”

“If we stop the flow, it will become harder and harder because we don’t let just anyone go and purchase a gun. There should be a million hoops to jump through,” said one attendee.