A group of residents from Newtown, Conn., was among nearly 1,000 people taking part in a march Saturday in support of gun control measures. Many said they hoped their presence will add momentum to legislative efforts to enact tougher regulations.
“We’re living in the middle of a crisis,” said Dave Ackert, a father of two from Newtown, who helped organize the group that also included residents from other parts of Connecticut. “Many, many people want to take action. Newtown wants to be remembered as a tipping point for positive change to reduce gun violence.”
Advocates said they hope the March on Washington for Gun Control, which took participants from the Capitol Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument, will be the first of several such events to push for tougher gun control laws at a time when public opinion on the issue seems to be shifting.
“[Newtown] has been the tipping point for so many people in this country,’’ said Molly Smith, one of the march’s organizers. “This is a movement – an honest to God movement.”
Twenty six people, including 20 children were killed in the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The suspected shooter, Adam Lanza, 20, also killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, and himself. The shooting shook the small New England town, shocked the nation and has added momentum to the campaign for stricter gun control laws and a focus on mental health issues.
Addressing the marchers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan recalled his days as chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools.
“I used to have a drawing on my desk from a child,” he said. “It said, ‘If I grow up, I want to be a fireman,’ If I grow up. Far too many children are growing up in an environment where they are scared. Our country deserves better than that.”
Stacy Blinn, of Stratford, Conn., said she was marching in memory of Chase Kowalski, 7, one of first-graders killed at Newtown. Blinn went to high school with Chase’s mother, and he and Blinn’s five-year-old son were friends.
She said she didn’t know how to explain Chase’s murder to her son. “I kind of flipped out,” Blinn said. “My husband just told my son that a bad guy came to the school and people died. He’s got a magic blanket now and that helps with the nightmares.”
Smith, the artistic director of Arena Stage, along with her partner, Suzanne Blue Star Boy, an American Indian activist, helped organize the event. Co-sponsors include One Million Moms for Gun Control, the Washington National Cathedral, Foundry United Methodist Church in the District and Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
Among those expected to speak are a host of elected representatives including Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D). Actress Kathleen Turner also is scheduled to appear, as is Colin Goddard, who was shot four times during the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech in which 32 people were killed.
Goddard, who now works for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said he has sensed a change in attitude among lawmakers since the Newtown shootings.
“We’re living in the middle of a crisis,” said Dave Ackert, a father of two from Newtown, who helped organize the group that also included residents from other parts of Connecticut. “Many, many people want to take action. Newtown wants to be remembered as a tipping point for positive change to reduce gun violence.”
Advocates said they hope the March on Washington for Gun Control, which took participants from the Capitol Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument, will be the first of several such events to push for tougher gun control laws at a time when public opinion on the issue seems to be shifting.
“[Newtown] has been the tipping point for so many people in this country,’’ said Molly Smith, one of the march’s organizers. “This is a movement – an honest to God movement.”
Twenty six people, including 20 children were killed in the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The suspected shooter, Adam Lanza, 20, also killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, and himself. The shooting shook the small New England town, shocked the nation and has added momentum to the campaign for stricter gun control laws and a focus on mental health issues.
Addressing the marchers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan recalled his days as chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools.
“I used to have a drawing on my desk from a child,” he said. “It said, ‘If I grow up, I want to be a fireman,’ If I grow up. Far too many children are growing up in an environment where they are scared. Our country deserves better than that.”
Stacy Blinn, of Stratford, Conn., said she was marching in memory of Chase Kowalski, 7, one of first-graders killed at Newtown. Blinn went to high school with Chase’s mother, and he and Blinn’s five-year-old son were friends.
She said she didn’t know how to explain Chase’s murder to her son. “I kind of flipped out,” Blinn said. “My husband just told my son that a bad guy came to the school and people died. He’s got a magic blanket now and that helps with the nightmares.”
Smith, the artistic director of Arena Stage, along with her partner, Suzanne Blue Star Boy, an American Indian activist, helped organize the event. Co-sponsors include One Million Moms for Gun Control, the Washington National Cathedral, Foundry United Methodist Church in the District and Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
Among those expected to speak are a host of elected representatives including Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D). Actress Kathleen Turner also is scheduled to appear, as is Colin Goddard, who was shot four times during the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech in which 32 people were killed.
Goddard, who now works for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said he has sensed a change in attitude among lawmakers since the Newtown shootings.