State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) and Birmingham Mayor Woodfin are engaged in a very public disagreement over the root cause cause and proper response to a recent shooting in Five Points South over the weekend. The shooting left four dead and 24 others injured Saturday night. Officials say the shooting was not random.
“I have stopped trying to reach out to the leaders of the city of Birmingham,” Givan said Monday on WBRC 6. “Because when the conversations start they sometimes feel it’s accusatory. It’s not accusatory.”
Woodfin has used the tragedy to again call for more gun control, including a ban on Glock switches that allows some handguns to fire automatically with just one pull of the trigger.
Givan argued that while she supports more gun control, she believes that’s not the core issue plaguing the community.
“We could pass 500 gun laws today,” she said. “Birmingham’s problems right now lies because our law enforcement is down nearly 400 officers. There are not enough officers to police the city of Birmingham.”
In response to Givan’s comments, Woodfin posted a picture on his Facebook showing pictures of many of Jefferson County’s state representatives — but put a “not you” on Givan’s picture.
Givan later reacted to Woodfin’s post saying on her social media, “I would have personally loved a bigger picture!”
The state lawmaker has made it clear she’s not trying to blame city leaders for what happened, she just wants to find a solution. “And the question becomes, when does it end?” She told ABC 33/40. “Again, I’m not here to blame anyone, but we are one step away from having to call the National Guard in.”
In response to Givan’s remark about the National Guard, Mayor Woodfin said, “That’s just a wack statement,” during a press conference on Tuesday.
"You're not safe" – State Representative Juandalynn Givan – on mass shooting in B'ham, Al pic.twitter.com/PjW7H06EN6
— ABC 33/40 News (@abc3340) September 23, 2024
Givan also told 1819 News that Mayor Woodfin is a “little boy in a big job.”
“From now on, I’m going to treat him like the little boy he is,” Givan said. “I will not work with him to get anything done. When you do something like that, you are saying to the world that you are either desperate, you are bothered, you are threatened and you have a lack of regard for your leaders in your area.”
“You’re a little boy in a big job, and I meant what I said. Listen, I can only speak to the city of Birmingham where I am. It’s a crisis everywhere. First of all, you have to have leadership that’s going to listen. You can’t have a mayor that says they are progressive, that ran on a progressive ticket but they are not doing anything that is progressive. You don’t see the progression in the city of Birmingham.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
