On June 5 in Springfield about 70 people attended an outdoor rally against gun violence, Tanisha Arena told the Valley Post. She was at the event and she runs Arise for Social Justice. That's a group in Springfield that fights mass incarceration, climate change, and poverty.

In New York on June 9, 2021 state lawmakers passed three gun control bills. Phoebe Maltz Bovy wrote in a 2015 article in the New Republic magazine, "Ban guns. All guns. Get rid of guns in homes, and on the streets and, as much as possible, on police." Hunters can use bows and arrows.

In 1996 and 1997, the government of Australia collected about 650,000 privately owned guns. In the years following the mandatory gun buyback program, gun violence plummeted.

**********

In Springfield on June 9, it was 91 degrees during an outdoor rally calling on the mayor to fire the police commissioner. The heat didn't stop about 50 people from attending the rally, Arena told the Valley Post. Also at the event was Springfield city council member Justin Hurst. He said, “I was present at the virtual meeting held by the Massachusetts Senior Action Committee of greater Springfield on April 29 with commissioner Clapprood to discuss police reform and listen to a myriad of recommendations from our seniors who have a wealth of lived experiences that we all can learn from. Unfortunately, much of what our seniors had to say fell on deaf ears. Not only was the commissioner not receptive, but her responses to questions around racism, systemic racism, implicit bias, and privilege were insensitive, out of touch and quite frankly dangerous to the community she serves.”

Last year, the federal justice department released a report that said police officers in Springfield routinely punch people in the face for no good reason. The cops are never punished for doing this, the report said.

Springfield is home to 154,000 people, 69 percent of whom are people of color.