ORGANIZER: 2,300 At Gun Control Rally on Guilford Green

Photos of Crowd on Green; Rep. Sean Scanlon in the crowd; and gun control advocates sitting in protest on the Green.

GUILFORD, CT - Even before the official starting time, hundreds stormed the Guilford Green on Saturday to participate in the “Take Action to End Gun Violence March.” There were over 500 people on the Green a half hour before the rally and march was slated to get underway.

The march was one of hundreds, attended by millions, that were held across the country on Saturday. The marches were organized in response to the last month's school shooting at Parkland Florida in which 17 students and staff were killed by a teenage gunman who legally purchased a semi-automatic rifle before going on his killing spree.

The organizer of the event, Frank Blackwell, estimated the crowd at the Guilford Green at 2,300 on his Facebook page on Saturday evening.

One of the headliners at Saturday’s Guilford event was United States Senator Chris Murphy, one of the leading advocates for tougher gun control legislation in the Senate. Murphy, along with fellow Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, have proposed several gun control inititiatves in the past several years in the wake of the school massacre at Sandy Hook in 2012.

On the stage set up on the Green, Murphy to cheers from the crowd, said that politicians need to pay attention to the turnout in Guilford and across the country on Saturday or they "soon will be voted out of office."

Murphy also had this to say: “Ninety people in this country die every single day from gun violence – a rate higher than any other industrialized nation in the world. Most politicians only pay attention when the mass tragedies happen, like Sandy Hook and Parkland, but the gun violence epidemic doesn't take a day off.

“For kids in places like Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven, they live it every day. This is a uniquely American problem, and it’s not because we have more mental illness in this country – we don’t. It’s not because our schools are less secure – they’re not. It’s not because we spend less money on law enforcement – we don’t. It’s because it’s incredibly easy for dangerous people to get dangerous weapons, and because Congress refuses to do anything about it.

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“Thank you to everyone who’s speaking out and marching today. Whether you support universal background checks, banning certain types of weapons, or want to have a conversation about how to address social isolation – or all that and more – there’s a place for you in this discussion. Stick with it because it’s going to be advocates like you who lead the way. I’ll be here to partner with you in any way that I can,” Murphy said.

Also speaking at Guilford’s rally on Saturday were state representatives Sean Scanlon and Lonnie Reed, and numerous school and community officials - including many school students.

Scanlon was mingling in the crowd before the start and he marveled at the huge crowd that was swarming the Green.

"It speaks to the desire to see change," said Scanlon. "Just look at how many people are already here."

Asked what made this effort to beat back the National Rifle Association's efforts to halt gun control efforts different, Scanlon didn't hesitate with his answer: "It's the kids - they are the ones making an impact."

Patricia Kantorwitz, of Guilford, agreed with Scanlon.

“The kids are our saviors,” said Kantorwitz. “They’ve woken up America.”

Also at Saturday’s rally, and marching, was Mike Song, whose 15-year-old son Ethan was killed two months ago by an accidental gun shot while he was at a neighbor’s house in Guilford.

The rally was organized by Guilford resident Frank Blackwell, who said he wanted to have the event in Guilford because “there are many people who might not be compelled to travel to New Haven, Hartford, or NYC to march in support but who would participate as part of a unified local event in support of the national gun control movement.”

Photos by Jack Kramer