Jordan Davis’ parents back Alvin Brown for Congress

Alvin Brown was Jacksonville Mayor in 2012, when Jordan Davis was gunned down at a gas station on the Southside.

In the years since, Brown has demonstrated support and friendship to Davis’ parents, and that support was reciprocated, via an official endorsement for Congress Wednesday.

Ron Davis and Lucy McBath, offered a joint statement, one that invoked both the Parkland massacre and the National Rifle Association.

“Nearly six years ago, our 17-year-old son Jordan was gunned down at a gas station in Jacksonville for simply playing music too loudly. The recent tragedy in Parkland shows just how little progress we’ve made, and how much more we still have to do, to keep our communities and kids safe from gun violence. This issue is truly one of life or death, and the stakes are too high for more excuses from do-nothing lawmakers, with our children’s blood on their hands, who ignore what’s in their heart to focus on what’s in their pocket. They readily support ‘Stand Your Ground’ and side with the NRA. Alvin Brown is a dedicated public servant with the courage to stand up to the gun lobby, and we know he will help make our country a safer, better place. We are proud to support his campaign.”

Worth noting: Brown’s opponent in the Democratic primary in Florida’s 5th Congressional District, Al Lawson,  previously reported having taken NRA money last year. However, a staffer from his office asserted that was a clerical error.

“No parent should ever have to bury a child,” Brown asserted, “and it’s shameful that ‘leaders’ in Tallahassee and Washington refuse to protect their own constituents from gun violence. I am honored to receive Ron and Lucy’s support and fight alongside them for commonsense gun policies to ensure senseless deaths like Jordan’s never happen again. The preventable school shootings and continued violence on our streets must end before more of our children are killed going to school, getting gas or walking home. Enough is enough.”  

With Lawson poised to swing through Jacksonville for a couple of media events next week, and with the debate regarding school safety and gun control still going on in the House, it’s clear that with this endorsement and its framing, timing is everything.