[h=4]Thomas Cooper/Getty Images[/h]Jane Dougherty and Carlee Soto read the names of gun-violence victims of the Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn.
A Colorado gun-rights activist charged Mayor Bloomberg with politicizing the Colorado theater massacre anniversary by sponsoring a Friday memorial vigil.
“Mayor Bloomberg is using this tragedy and walking all over graves to get to the microphone,” said Dudley Brown, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.
The somber gathering at Cherry Creek State Park included survivors of the mass killings inside both the Aurora, Colo., movie theater and the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
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The gathering was backed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group co-founded by Bloomberg, who did not attend the event. His absence was lost on at least one of the pro-gun activists at the park.
[h=4]Thomas Cooper/Getty Images[/h][h=4]'Tell Mayor Bloomberg to stay the hell out of Colorado,' read a sign waved by Rob Blancken.[/h]
“Tell Mayor Bloomberg to stay the hell out of Colorado,” read a sign waved by Rob Blancken.
The mayor’s office declined to respond, and instead issued a statement from Tom Sullivan — whose 27-year-old son, Alex, was one of a dozen people killed during the bloody rampage at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
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Sullivan appeared at the vigil where the names of recent gun violence victims were read aloud. The Colorado shootings began at 12:38 a.m. on July 20, 2012.
“I will be there to honor the memory of my son and those killed in the Aurora theater, as well as victims of gun violence across the country,” read the Sullivan statement.
[h=4]Thomas Cooper/Getty Images[/h][h=4]Jane Dougherty and Carlee Soto read the names of victims at a remembrance ceremony at Cherry Creek State Park.[/h]
“There is an urgent need for action on common-sense gun policies nationwide, just like we have begun here in Colorado.”
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He was joined at the event by Carlee Soto, whose sister Victoria was a Sandy Hook teacher — and one of 26 people killed at the school in the Dec, 14, 2012, carnage.
“Why wait any longer? she asked. “The time for change is now.”
Stephen Barton, one of 70 people wounded in the Aurora shooting, echoed her call for action.
[h=4]BOB PEARSON/EPA[/h][h=4]A policeman removes a pro-gun protester from the area during a ceremony in Aurora, Colo., ahead of the one-year anniversary of the shootings.[/h]
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“You shouldn’t wait until it affects you to start caring about it,” he said. “I never thought I would ever be affected by gun violence personally.”
The gun owners groups scheduled their own rally in the park, insisting their counter-demonstration was not intended as disrespectful to the dead.
“We want the families of the victims to know that we are sorry for their loss,” said Alicia Perez of Gun Rights Across America.
With News Wire Services
[email protected]
A Colorado gun-rights activist charged Mayor Bloomberg with politicizing the Colorado theater massacre anniversary by sponsoring a Friday memorial vigil.
“Mayor Bloomberg is using this tragedy and walking all over graves to get to the microphone,” said Dudley Brown, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.
The somber gathering at Cherry Creek State Park included survivors of the mass killings inside both the Aurora, Colo., movie theater and the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
RELATED: WHY DID JAMES HOLMES DO IT? ‘DARK KNIGHT’ KILLER MYSTERY
The gathering was backed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group co-founded by Bloomberg, who did not attend the event. His absence was lost on at least one of the pro-gun activists at the park.
“Tell Mayor Bloomberg to stay the hell out of Colorado,” read a sign waved by Rob Blancken.
The mayor’s office declined to respond, and instead issued a statement from Tom Sullivan — whose 27-year-old son, Alex, was one of a dozen people killed during the bloody rampage at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
RELATED: JAMES HOLMES ORDERED TO WEAR HARNESS DURING TRIAL
Sullivan appeared at the vigil where the names of recent gun violence victims were read aloud. The Colorado shootings began at 12:38 a.m. on July 20, 2012.
“I will be there to honor the memory of my son and those killed in the Aurora theater, as well as victims of gun violence across the country,” read the Sullivan statement.
“There is an urgent need for action on common-sense gun policies nationwide, just like we have begun here in Colorado.”
RELATED: JUDGE OKS JAMES HOLMES INSANITY PLEA IN ‘DARK KNIGHT’ SHOOTING CASE
He was joined at the event by Carlee Soto, whose sister Victoria was a Sandy Hook teacher — and one of 26 people killed at the school in the Dec, 14, 2012, carnage.
“Why wait any longer? she asked. “The time for change is now.”
Stephen Barton, one of 70 people wounded in the Aurora shooting, echoed her call for action.
RELATED: ‘DARK KNIGHT’ SUSPECT JAMES HOLMES REQUESTS PLEA CHANGE TO NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY
“You shouldn’t wait until it affects you to start caring about it,” he said. “I never thought I would ever be affected by gun violence personally.”
The gun owners groups scheduled their own rally in the park, insisting their counter-demonstration was not intended as disrespectful to the dead.
“We want the families of the victims to know that we are sorry for their loss,” said Alicia Perez of Gun Rights Across America.
With News Wire Services
[email protected]