Vigil Held In Ridgewood To Honor Parkland Shooting Victims

RIDGEWOOD, NJ – A vigil was held Sunday to honor the lives of the victims killed in a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, nearly two years ago this week.

During a service at Emmanuel Church, congregants, along with U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Fair Lawn Councilwoman Cristina Cutrone, Ridgewood Mayor Ramon Hache and several action groups, such as the Brady Campaign and Moms Demand Action, came together to remember the 14 students and three faculty members who died in Parkland, Fl.

The event, co-sponsored by March For Our Lives Bergen County, Students Demand Action, Community Peace and Justice Forum/Network and Emmanuel Ridgewood, included a candle lighting ceremony.

Gottheimer said, “We’re here today to look back almost two years ago at a tragedy that took children, students, teachers, parents, and loved ones away from us forever — a shooting that will be remembered as the deadliest high school shooting in our nation’s history."

“The best way we can keep students safe is to finally pass legislation to help keep guns out of the hands of those who would come through a school’s front doors with a weapon fit for war. It’s time we doubled down on this fight in the halls of Congress, put aside the partisan name calling, and actually got this done. Enough excuses; it’s time to act," he said.

Gottheimer has called for the Senate to bring two safety measures to the floor that the House sent over 347 days ago:

• H.R. 8, which requires a background check on every gun sale or transfer
• H.R. 1112, which closes the Charleston Loophole that allows a firearm sale to proceed even if the FBI has not yet completed a background check.

Gottheimer also recently announced the bipartisan ALYSSA Act — the Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in Schools Safety Alert Act, named after Fifth District native and Parkland, Florida, victim Alyssa Alhadeff, which will bring New Jersey’s state Alyssa’s Law to the national level by requiring all public schools to install silent panic alarms connected to local law enforcement.

It would also ensure every school has access to School Resource Officers, so schools have a well-trained first responder on already on campus in the event of a critical incident.