50 Youths Walk 50 Miles To Call For End Of Gun Manufacturing

WORCESTER, MA—At 17 years old, Boston Latin Academy student Vikiana Petit-Homme said she wanted to walk in solidarity with the victims of gun violence by the hand of Smith and Wesson guns, whether it be in a school shooting, mass shooting or everyday gun violence.

She'll join more than 50 youth activists plan to march 50 miles, from Worcester to Smith & Wesson’s headquarters in Springfield, on Saturday.

Planned specifically around the start of school, these youths say the walk is a call to the gun manufacturer to stop manufacturing all weapons outlawed under Massachusetts' 2004 Assault Weapons Ban and to make a $5 million donation towards researching gun violence.

The event, called 50 Miles More Massachusetts, is sponsored by March for Our Lives: Boston.

"In Massachusetts we are fortunate enough to have strong gun laws," Petit-Homme, who is from Boston and one of the lead organizers, told Patch, "yet we allow a company like Smith and Wesson to distribute weapons we don't even want in our own state. We decided that us youth would stand up to Smith and Wesson and hold them accountable for their actions and demand they take the first step to being part of the solution."

She said the protesters have two demands directed at Smith and Wesson: stop the manufacturing and out of state distribution of weapons not able to be legally distributed in MA due to its assault weapons ban and Attorney General Maura Healy's CopycCat ban; and donate $5 million to gun violence research.

“This 50-mile march is about accountability,” Petit-Homme said. “Smith & Wesson continues to profit from guns used in horrific mass shootings and daily gun violence. We’ve had enough blood spilled. Smith & Wesson needs to be part of the solution, not part of the massive problem.”

David Hogg, a survivor of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, and Parkland parent Manuel Oliver are planning to attend.

The march will take five days and kicks off from Worcester City Hall at 9:30 a.m. in Worcester, ending on Aug. 26 with a rally in Springfield at noon.

Felix Brody, another organizer, noted that Smith & Wesson is the nation’s third largest firearms manufacturer, in a statement, “Smith & Wesson's products have been used in shootings at Parkland, San Bernardino, and Aurora and they haven't taken any responsibility. That's unacceptable."

Photo via Jenna Fisher, Patch Staff, at March for Our Lives Boston