Hundreds Join Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Today for 2nd Annual Brooklyn Bridge March and Rally to End Gun Violence
6.14.2014
A crowd of more than 800 gathered in Brooklyn this morning for the “2nd Annual Brooklyn Bridge March and Rally to End Gun Violence.” The event, hosted by the Greater New York City Chapter of Moms Demand Action, brought together gun violence prevention advocates from around the country and moms from over 20 states in an effort to raise awareness about gun violence prevention and to promote the group’s Gun Sense Voter Campaign with Everytown for Gun Safety. Participants elevated the call of Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher was killed on Friday in the Santa Barbara tragedy by chanting, “Not One More!”
After crossing the bridge, the crowd gathered outside of City Hall, where speakers shared their personal experiences with gun violence. The speakers line up led by Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America included Amanda Peet, actress, play write and UN ambassador for Shot at Life; Marie Delus, whose nephew Pierre-Paul was shot and killed in Queens; Erica Lafferty, daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School who was killed in the Newtown shooting; Lucia McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis, who was shot and killed at a Florida gas station; and Antonius Wiriadjaja, who was shot in the chest by a stray bullet Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. The first Junior Ambassador of Moms Demand Action, Christopher Underwood joined as well.
Other notable attendees included Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Adam Scott, and Co-Chairs of the New York City Gun Violence Awareness Month Tamika Mallory and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn).
“Today’s event showcased the resilience and dedication of our moms and advocates to end gun violence in this country,” saidShannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “Turn out for today’s event surpassed our numbers from last year’s, which is yet another indication of the groundswell that is the grassroots power of moms. It’s been eighteen months since the tragedy at Newtown and if the gun lobby thinks we’re going away, today’s crowd is evidence that they are sorely mistaken.”
At City Hall, participants also signed pledge cards for the Gun Sense Voter Campaign, an initiative that will for the first time, mobilize one million voters who will go to the polls in November and vote to end gun violence. Gun sense is the simple idea that we can do much more to keep our families and communities safe from gun violence.