St. Pete Mayor, Rick Kriseman is continuing his fight against gun violence on Thursday. The city is participating in the "Vocal Majority" bus tour.
Kriseman and St. Pete council members will join the national bus tour on the steps of St. Petersburg City Hall at 11 a.m.
The aim of the event is to toughen gun laws and make communities safer.
The event is the fourth stop of the 2016 Vocal Majority Tour, led by the Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, and it is a six-week, 14-state national bus tour that runs until Election Day.
The Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC was founded by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly.
According to the latest numbers from the St. Pete police department, there have been nine gun-related homicides in 2016. The Mayor is working to stop the violence and make neighborhoods safer.
Over the past year, the Mayor has put forth several efforts to fight gun violence in the city. He's pledged to find $1 million dollars to invest in the city's youth, in efforts to address not only a rash of recent violence, but what's been described as systemic problems.
A city task force has also been put together, consisting of community leaders who plan to look into gun violence.
Just this year, the city of St. Pete named the area's first community intervention director. His mission is a lofty one. To stop the constant cycle of violence.
"This didn't just happen. We're looking at the result of a lot of neglect. And a lot of misdirection. And it's going to take time," said Community Intervention Director Ken Irby.
The key to that change, city administrators told ABC Action News, is building relationships across the city, schools and organizations, as well as businesses. And efforts like Thursday's bus tour focusing on gun violence.
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