YORK, Pa. — Tavon Parker of York runs a mentorship organization called the Advantage Program. The program teaches local youth about important issues like personal finance and the importance of voting, and exposes them to experiences outside of the city. Parker, though, wasn’t always a role model.
“I was selling drugs and I saw a lot of the violence that was happening in streets,” he said of his young adulthood. “I made a decision that I wanted to carry a gun so I wouldn’t be one of the victims. It’s a mentality that a lot of people have, where ‘I’d rather get caught with my gun than get caught without my gun,’ because the alternative of getting caught without your gun is usually death.”
He did get caught with his gun, and in 2017 began serving a 14-month prison sentence at York County Prison.
Three short years later, guns threw another wrench in Parker’s life. Willie Hicks, his 27-year-old brother, was shot and killed in a York barbershop. Court documents said Hicks was part of a crew trying to rob the business.
“That was one of the hardest and darkest moments of my life,” Parks said. “I think that the way I’m able to get through it and channel the frustration is really trying to impact someone else so they don’t have to go through it.”
Parker wrote a book about his experience, “Changing the Narrative.” He also speaks publicly on the issue of gun violence and ways to prevent it. He advocates for a requirement to report lost or stolen guns and more reintegration services to people leaving prison.
“There are a lot of specifics but I think it’s imperative that people in power start taking the gun crisis a lot more seriously, because if not, we’re going to continue to see exponential growth in the number of gun crimes,” he said.
Crime and gun control have emerged as central issues to the midterm election. Though national crime trends are mixed, FBI data shows homicides in Pennsylvania jumped 38 percent from 2017 to 2021.
Here are what state- and federal-level candidates are saying they will do to keep communities safe:
On the state level, police departments across Pennsylvania are grappling with an officer shortage. Some chiefs say a big reason why is the rise of anti-police sentiment following the 2020 killing of George Floyd and subsequent calls to defund the police.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has taken a strong pro-law enforcement stance.
“On Day One, I’ll have the backs of my law enforcement,” Mastriano said in an interview with America’s Voice. “Additionally, I’ll be working with the House and Senate to expand the number of officers on the ground and make sure they have the resources necessary. Additionally, I’ll be seeking authorization from the General Assembly to surge special prosecutors to Philadelphia so if you do the crime, you’re going to do the time.”
Mastriano’s campaign website says he would make Pennsylvania a “Constitutional Carry State” and a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”
In a one-on-one interview with FOX43, Democrat Josh Shapiro also rejected the idea of defunding the police.
“It’s not about taking resources away from law enforcement for that purpose, though. We need to put more money into law enforcement. Hiring more police to be out in our communities, understanding that with more police, it’s actually an opportunity for them to get out of their patrol cars, walk the beat,” Shapiro said. “And yes, it also means hiring professionals, like social services professionals, mental health professionals, to work with the police.”
On the federal level, Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman has focused on criminal justice reform during his term as lieutenant governor. As head of the state Pardons Board, he recommended 50 commutations of life sentences. He has also touted his work when he was mayor of Braddock, Pa. from 2006 to 2019, where he held gun buyback events and took other measures to get guns off the streets.
“I have run on my record on crime,” Fetterman said during the Senate debate on Oct. 25. “Working with the police and working with our community I was able to stop gun violence for five and a half years as mayor.”
Republican Mehmet Oz has backed some gun control measures, like universal background checks. He has also called to cut down on some police oversight regulations that he said limit how police do their job.
“I like that there are background checks that are being strengthened now, so we can make sure that people who should not have guns don’t get guns. I also like that the fact that there was a lot of money invested for mental health, which is an important part of the equation,” Oz said during the debate. He was referring to an earlier, stricter version of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act supported by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). “But part of the problem is that we have taken away the ability of the police to do their job.”