Image courtesy of WKRC Local 12 (Source)

 

The first day of school generally is a time for joy, but the children of Lincoln Heights Elementary School walked into school to the sounds of gunshots.

“It was heartbreaking to hear this account by a member of the Lincoln Heights community,” says Cincinnati Councilmember Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney. Kearney filed a motion on Monday for a public hearing on the City’s gun range located in Evendale and abuts Lincoln Heights and Woodlawn. 

The public hearing aims to bring together Cincinnati City Council, Lincoln Heights City Council, Hamilton County Commission, Cincinnati Police Department, as well as other stakeholders, to discuss the environmental impact of the gun range. Kearney says that she also will reach out to invite the Woodlawn and Evendale officials and communities.

“We will take a hard look at the environmental impact of our gun range in its current location: the lead poisoning issue, the effects of the noise, and the psychological effects of living in an environment where children and adults hear constant gunfire,” Kearney says. “I understand the importance of having a gun range where our Cincinnati Police Department’s 1,000 members can practice target shooting and where the K-9 units are trained, but it does not need to be located in a residential area.”

“We are harming the neighboring communities, and that must stop. We know that Black and Brown communities are more likely to be victimized by environmental hazards, adding to the higher rates of health problems,” says Kearney. “The gun range is yet another example of this.” 

“The issue for me is urgency,” says Kearney. “Lincoln Heights has existed since the 1920s, although it was not incorporated until the 1940s, and many of the homes were constructed after the gun range existed. But the issue of who was here first is immaterial. Our gun range creates an environmental hazard for the communities involved, and that cannot continue.” 

Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman previously called for reports on several options such as enclosing the gun range and installing HVAC. The price tag was $2.7 million for enclosing the 29-acre gun range. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley stated during a City Council meeting yesterday that he is not opposed to moving the gun range. According to Kearney, “members of City Council are actively looking for alternate location options and exploring possible sources of funding.”

Councilmember P.G. Sittenfeld has agreed to hold a public hearing out of the Education, Innovation and Growth Committee, which he chairs, on October 6, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. to addresses the environmental impact of the gun range.

Human Relations Commission Director Paul Booth, who led previous meetings with the mayors of Lincoln Heights, Woodlawn, and Evendale, remains actively involved, and agrees with Councilmember Kearney that the gun range situation must be resolved. 

“There is a viable remote location for the gun range, and necessary relocation funds exist somewhere, so we must move with alacrity to find both,” Kearney says.