LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The widow of Tommy Elliott, one of five people killed in the Old National Bank mass shooting in April, will be attending a hearing in Frankfort in support of gun safety bill proposed for 2024.
Maryanne Elliott will help lead a large caravan -- made up of others affected by gun violence -- headed to Frankfort on Dec. 15 to advocate for the Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention (CARR) bill.
It's a bill that would allow temporary seizure of weapons from those in crisis. Supporters believe it will reduce the number of deaths to mass shootings and suicides.
The bill, sponsored by Republican State Sen. Whitney Westerfield, will be introduced in a hearing in front of the Interim Joint Judiciary Committee on Dec. 15.
"I think it's going to be a really powerful moment," said Whitney Austin, a well-known Louisville advocate for gun safety.
To our knowledge, Elliott has only spoken once publicly about the tragedy that's altered her life forever. In July, Elliott talked about the tragedy at a community meeting circled around curbing gun violence.
"Four bullet holes ripped through my husband's body," she said that day. "I know that I have to do something. I just don't know exactly what that is."
A previous version of the CARR bill received bipartisan support in the state legislature years ago but was never passed.
CARR is seen as a middle ground version of a red flag law -- one that prioritizes due process. It would allow law enforcement to temporarily seize a person's gun, if a judge deems them in crisis and a risk to themselves or others.
On Friday, two weeks ahead of the hearing, WHAS11 talked to Austin, who will also be attending the committee meeting. She survived being shot 12 times in a shooting that killed three people at Fifth Third Bank headquarters in Cincinnati back in 2018.
"We're going to discuss this in a way that I think most have not, and that will open people's minds to solutions that can do as I said -- balance both sides: Public safety, personal safety, as well as the Second Amendment," Austin said.
Since April, Austin and Elliott have forged a close bond.
On Nov. 27, Westerfield told WHAS11 that he plans to introduce a "couple different versions" of his CARR bill at the committee hearing on Dec. 15.
"It's my hope that every legislator draws on whatever inspiration that they need to draw on to keep an open mind," Westerfield said. "And find a way to make the solution better."
But the bill is expected to be met with strong pushback from some Republicans on the committee, some of whom may hold the votes Westerfield will need to flip to get it passed next year.
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