Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of D.C. Saturday evening in light of the newly reignited gun control debate, sparked by the Dec. 14 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 20 children and six adults.
Groups Project End Gun Violence, Light Brigade Maryland, Washington Peace Center and Utilitarian Universalists for Social Justice, among others, plan to rally against gun violence.
People gathered in Tivoli Square at 14th Street and Park Road NW in Columbia Heights before marching down 14th Street to Saint Stephen of the Incarnation Episcopal Church on Newton Street NW.
In a statement, organizers say, “…All communities have come forth with pain, outrage, and a demand for answers and solutions from our elected government, and pro-gun advocacy organizations such as the National Rifle Association.”
Project Gun Violence hopes to organize a "Millon Kid March" in the new year to call for tighter gun control laws. The group's director, Eddie Weingart told News4 "When it's come down to 20 first-graders [being killed], I think it's hit the American people in the heart in a way that [previous mass shootings] haven't."
In a week’s time, the deadly shooting inside Sandy Hook Elementary School has turned the national debate over gun violence from a simmer to a boil. Saturday’s event comes one day after National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre commented on the shooting, saying, in part, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
Another demonstration is scheduled to be held outside a gun shop in Falls Church Friday.