National Gun Violence Vigil Preps For Fifth Visit To Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The five-year anniversary of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School is just weeks away, and advocates for gun violence prevention will head to Washington, D.C. for the fifth National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence. Anchored in Washington, victims of gun violence will be honored at 173 separate ceremonies nationwide in 39 different states.

The Newtown Foundation and Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) are hosting the event for the fifth time, which they have done each year since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place on Dec. 14, 2012. Twenty first grade students and six teachers were killed that day, and thousands of mass shootings have taken place nationwide.

Formed after the Sandy Hook tragedy, the Newtown Action Alliance is a national gun violence prevention group dedicated to fighting for sensible gun laws on both the state and federal level. The group advocates, families and survivors works to bring broader cultural change surrounding guns and gun violence.

Three of the five deadliest shootings in modern U.S. history have taken place in the last year and a half, including massacres in Las Vegas, Orlando and most recently Sutherland Springs, TX.

The vigil will bring 85 families affected by gun violence on Dec. 6 at 7 a.m. in Washington. Additionally, vigils will be held nationwide from Dec. 6-17.

In preparation for the largest nationwide gun vigil, we spoke to NAA chairwoman Po Murray about her group's work and the upcoming vigil.

It’s been almost five years since the Sandy Hook massacre, and there have been countless other mass shootings in the U.S., How do you view the NAA’s progress?

I think we’ve made significant progress in our state. Immediately after the tragedy we formed as a grassroots group to fight for sensible gun laws in the state of Connecticut. We were very effective in passing second strongest gun violence prevention laws in the country. We are different than some of the larger organizations because we are all volunteer. We maintain that status to have authentic voice in this community to push for strong gun laws that we need to pass. Recently, we came out with a statement supporting 23 measures that congress can pass immediately, which would help reduce gun violence in this nation.

We work as an ally with all gun violence prevention organizations. We’ve been effective in performance in the states, ten states have pass background check laws. We’ve also helped put gun violence prevention in the national conversation. We felt the conversation has changed since the Sandy Hook tragedy, and we don’t believe we’re going backwards.

According to the Quinnipiac study now 95 percent of american support background check bills and 60 percent support assault weapon bans. We’re starting to see a cultural shift as well.

Gun legislation has failed numerous times. What needs to happen in order for that to change?

It’s frustrating and many of us were devastated on election day in 2016. There was a vast difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on gun violence prevention measures. Trump was supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA) who spent $30 million to get him elected, and he’s in pockets of NRA. You can see he favors NRA proposals in the white house. Ultimately, it’s in the hands of American people. When the electorate demands action and votes to support candidates who will do something, we will see significant difference on the federal level.

We know the NAA’s long term goal, what are the group’s short term goals?

The goal has always been to give families and survivors that have been directly impacted by gun violence a voice. That’s why we hold the annual national vigil for victims of gun violence. 85 families of victims of gun violence nationwide from all over U.S. will join us for the vigil against gun violence in Washington, D.C. this year. A bus load of advocates from Newtown will also be traveling down to D.C. for the vigil. Our short term goal is to not allow congress to forget about Sandy Hook or any other mass shootings in America by making sure we show up on Capitol Hill. We promised we will bring more friends and allies to Capitol Hill so they won’t forget.

What can attendees expect at the vigil?

The national vigil on capitol hill will anchor a nationwide vigil to end gun violence. There are 173 vigils and events being planned in 39 states nationwide. Our goal is to continue to shine a light on the epidemic of gun violence and to engage more Americans on this issue. As we’ve seen after mass shootings, thoughts and prayers are offered by congress, and within a half of a week to a week the media will move on despite the fact that three of the most violent mass shootings in U.S. history occurred within the past year. We are hoping to continue to engage the American people.

Why hold the vigil in Washington, D.C. and not Newtown?

We made a promise to congress that we would be back to Washington to remind them they need to take meaningful action on gun violence. We traveled there with devastated families after the Sandy Hook massacre, and after we realized nothing would be done, we promised we would return with more friends and allies. I think it’s important to show up in D.C. to remind Congress of the impact of gun violence. It impacts small towns and big cities. It can happen to anyone, anywhere.

Image: Manuel Balce Ceneta/ Associated Press