We had 25 people at our vigil in front of the Old Kennett Meeting House on Route 1 in Kennett Square, PA. We were all residents at Kendal at Longwood, a retirement community adjacent to the meeting house. We had a lot of appreciative honks and waves, and the traffic was pretty good because we are just a mile from Longwood Gardens and many were heading there to see the lights. I’m glad they saw our lights first.

About 50 people attended the vigil in Sacramento, which was co-hosted by the Sacramento Valley/Nevada County Brady Campaign Chapters, the Lutheran Office of Public Policy, Physicians for Social Responsibility/Sacramento, the Friends Committee on Legislation of California, and Rev. Alan Jones of St. Mark’s Church. Those present were honored and pleased to be joined by Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Senator Darrell Steinberg, and Assembly Member Roger Dickinson.

Supporters gathered on the steps of St. John’s Lutheran Church, where the music, flowers, and candlelight at dusk provided a perfect setting. Signs bore the names of victims of gun violence inside a heart. The elected officials spoke of the enormous tragedy of gun violence and their commitment to prevention.

The church bell tolled as the names of victims were read – first from Tucson, then from Seal Beach, Cupertino, and Los Angeles, and finally, from Stockton in 1989. The names of more victims were said – a brother and a son lost by suicide, a daughter by homicide, two men by homicide, a friend…there are too many victims. It was a solemn, beautiful, and moving event.

Then, walking two by two, a short memorial procession to California’s Capitol Park was followed by a candlelight vigil. In silence, people stood together in witness to the tragedy of gun violence and their resolve to prevent it. Passersby expressed support. All were heartened by the thought of candlelight vigils around the country. May their collective light lead America from the darkness of gun violence.

Former Duluth Deputy Police Chief John Beyer rang the bell in memory of Officer Shawn Schneider of Lake City, whose funeral was held last weekend. Schneider was slain during a domestic incident involving a gun. Beyer was among several individuals and families who remembered loved ones lost to gun violence during the Too Many Victims candlelight vigil held in Duluth on January 8. The event was sponsored by the Northland Protect Minnesota/Brady Campaign and the Peace UCC Church Just Peace Committee. Photo by Alan Peterson

Read the full story from the Duluth News Tribune.

Stamford hosted a community vigil co-sponsored by the Interfaith Council and CT Against Gun Violence. A cross-section of the community participated, underscoring how this issue impacts us all. We heard from Lt. Chris Baker of the Stamford Police Department about the alarming increase in guns and gun violence in Stamford. He is seeing the impact of guns in his work with the Narcotics and Organized Crimes Unit. We heard from Mary Pelicci Hamilton about the lasting effects of losing her father to gun violence years ago. We heard from Chester Addison Community Center director Michael Hyman about the need for safe communities and activities for our children. We heard from State Representative and U.S. Senate candidate William Tong about his own family’s brush with violent crime and his efforts to ensure that Connecticut remains a place with safe and sane gun laws. And, among other clergy, I spoke of my hope that we can change the conversation about guns in this country. Anyone interested in working to prevent gun violence in Fairfield County is welcome to get in touch with me at kateheichler@gmail.com.

Link to a news story by The Stamford Advocate

On January 8, 2012, Koinonia Baptist Church held a vigil to both acknowledge the anniversary of the mass shooting involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and to acknowledge the 196 victims of murder in Baltimore in 2011. Bishop Douglas I. Miles was the organizer of the event, which was one of many across the nation conducted in collaboration with the Brady Campaign.

The vigil began at 1:00 p.m. culminating the worship day for the church with more than 70 people in attendance. Central to the event were testimonies of those who suffered loss due to violence. Brittany Leavy, a senior at Dunbar High, recounted the experience of losing her best friend, an innocent bystander who was killed by gunshots intended for someone else in 2011. She spoke of the sense of loss and the devastating pain she still carries. Randolph Bradley, a deacon of Koinonia, spoke of the pain now suffered by his grandson due to the loss of his father to gun violence.

Bishop Miles spoke of the need for the whole community to come together to break the covenant with death and violence that seems to pervade the city despite the recent drop in murders and other violent crimes in Baltimore and statewide. Rev. Dante K. Miles, pastor, led the vigil in a prayer for peace. The singing of hymns and other spiritual music punctuated the gathering. Later Bishop Miles recounted how much the vigil was needed because most present had either experienced violence first hand or was close to someone who had. Plans are to conduct the vigil on an annual basis.

Nine of us gathered at St Peter’s Episcopal Church to reflect on the lives of those affected by gun violence – one was a victim of gun violence herself, others are relatives of victims and all are advocates and educators in the struggle to eradicate gun violence from our communities. Ours was a small, but intense, gathering. We shared fond memories as well as stories of unrelenting fear, offered one another consolation and encouragement, exchanged lists of resources and ideas for action, and left, not as the strangers who had gathered, but as a determined coalition inspired and empowered to transform a narrowly-focused system supporting the isolated interests of a few into a society accountable for the well-being of us all.

Elder Bernice King’s sermon, “Exchange Your Piece for His Peace,” was nothing short of phenomenal. I t was clear that the multitude of congregants from many faith traditions who filled the room were deeply moved by her message. I certainly was. If there was any doubt about the impact, the alter call (which was a non-traditional altar call, to say the least) left no doubt. I was humbled by the volume of people who came up and committed to and/or rededicated themselves to peace. The message provided courage to go forward in the movement and the anointing provided the strength and backing to do so.

By Khaleelah Muhammad, J.D., Auburn Gresham Neighborhood Recovery Initiative Project Manager

Link to news coverage by WGN

Link to news coverage by ABC

Gun violence survivor Ondelee Perteet and his mom receive the Blue Heart Award and addresses the congregation

This video features the song, “Still I Rise,” performed during the January 8th vigil service held at the Church of the Ascension in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The vigil, entitled “Remembrance of Life for Victims of Gun Violence,” was organized by Protect Minnesota.

CeaseFirePA–working with Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) and the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP)–was able to get approximately 30 very committed people with personal gun violence stories together at Wesley Center A.M.E. Zion Church in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. This was actually solid turnout for a vigil that wound up being scheduled squarely in the middle of the first and, as it turned out, last Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game of the season. For those of you unfamiliar with how Pittsburgh feels about football, let me assure you the entire town shuts down when the Steelers are playing. Rev. Glenn Grayson led the prayer portions of the evening, provided the venue and shared his own personal story. Just over one year ago, he lost his 19-year-old son to random gun violence. Other speakers included Betty Lane and Shirley Gaines of the East Liberty Concerned Citizens Corporation, Monique Flowers, and Reginald Roberts of the B-PEP Coalition Against Violence.

Supporters with the Greater Denver Chapter of Million Mom March and Colorado Ceasefire gathered outside the emergency room of Denver Health Medical Center, home of the Rocky Mountain Regional Level 1 Trauma Center featured in Eugene Richards’ book “The Knife and Gun Club, Scenes from an Emergency Room.” We lit 34 candles in remembrance of the lives lost due to gun violence each day. We read a statement acknowledging the destruction caused by gun violence in Colorado: Participants stories of personal loss and unending grief due deaths from gun violence. And we recounted some tragedies in the news recently: A woman gunned down by her ex-­husband as their children watched her die, a five-year-old girl who killed herself with a loaded, unlocked firearm, a South  Sudanese immigrant who escaped violence in  his home country to be gunned down in front  of his home, a 5 year old boy shot and killed  by a three-year-old just before Christmas, a woman ambushed and killed by her ex-­boyfriend. We called upon our elected officials take action to prevent more deaths from illegal guns.

Due to the vagaries of Pacific Northwest weather in January, Washington CeaseFire held its vigil at 10:30 a.m. Sunday in a public plaza in downtown Seattle. The featured speaker was U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott of Seattle, a Democratic colleague of Gabby Giffords’ in Congress. McDermott spoke about his connection to the Tucson shooting via Rep. Giffords and her aide, Gabe Zimmerman, who was killed at the event. He addressed the need for sensible national gun laws, and specifically for a limitation on magazine size. Also speaking was WA CeaseFire board president Ralph Fascitelli. The event attracted nearly 50 people as well as reporters from all four local TV stations and the Seattle Times and Seattle Weekly newspapers. The stations broadcast coverage of the event Sunday, in conjunction with national stories about other vigils and Giffords’ return to the scene of the shooting. The newspapers’ coverage appeared in print and/or online. The event was highly effective in terms of communicating to the public on the issues of firearms safety.

Click here to watch news coverage of the Seattle vigil.

Gathered on the steps of Santa Barbara’s magnificent Spanish-style courthouse at 10:00am January 8, 2012, members of the community marked the anniversary of the Tucson shooting with a memorial vigil. Organized by the Coalition Against Gun Violence, a grassroots nonprofit and only gun control organization on California’s Central Coast for 18 years, the vigil was well attended by many who have been affected personally by gun violence. These individuals lined up to ring the bell and announced the names of their loved ones whose memories they were honoring. Beginning with the six victims from Tucson, we then honored the memories of the three other California mass shooting in 2011.

Ed Easton, Mayor of neighboring Goleta, solemnly rang the bell six times while reading the names of the victims of the Goleta Post Office tragedy, January 30, 2006. Many more tollers of the bell followed, recalling friends and family members who have fallen due to gun violence. Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal rang the bell in honor of his sister, and his brother in law.

Other local officials addressed the gathering, urging us not only to remember the fallen but encouraging us to do something about it. Congresswoman Lois Capps gave an emotional speech recalling her good friend and colleague Gabrielle Giffords and called upon us to push Congress for safer gun laws. Santa Barbara County Supervisor Janet Wolf reminded us “in addition to monitoring and advocating for sensible gun legislation to prevent further tragedy, we also need to look at strengthening our mental and public health systems, recognizing the vital role that treatment and intervention can play in reducing the incidence of gun violence in the first place.”

Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider urged everyone to keep in mind the importance of civility, especially in political discourse. As the 2012 election year heats up and the rhetoric on all sides escalates, we must communicate respectfully and peacefully.

The Chair of the Coalition Against Gun Violence, Toni Wellen, summed up everyone’s sentiment with the simple statement, “There are too many victims lost to gun violence. Enough is enough.”

Love Park in Center City, Philadelphia, welcomed 65 people committed to ending gun violence to our Too Many Victims vigil on Sunday evening. Hosted by Heeding God’s Call, a growing multi-faith, grassroots campaign to prevent gun violence, the candlelit vigil was joined by participants from CeaseFirePA, Mothers in Charge, and the Brady Campaign. Prayer and singing engaged the group huddled together against the wind which blew out candles but not the light that shines from within and shines brightly on this issue. The group heard from Pennsylvania Senator Larry Farnese and Philadelphia Director of Public Safety Michael Resnick as well as from clergy and faith leaders from around the city and suburbs. Although “anniversary” might seem too celebratory for such a solemn moment, we knew that we were joined in solidarity by thousands of others across the country who also gathered in the light to remember those who died last January in Tucson. We prayed for those who continue to mend their bodies and spirits following the Tuscon Massacre, and reminded ourselves that since January 8, 2011, 12,000 Americans have been murdered as the result of gun violence while a total of nearly 30,000 die each year from gun violence. We recognized our call to action in this City of Brotherly Love which has the highest homicide rate of the nation’s ten most populous cities, an average of nearly one per day. We reminded one another that we have much to do … but that we are not alone in this journey. — Rev. James F. McIntire, Chair, Heeding God’s Call

The weekend of our January board meeting of the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads marked the first anniversary of the tragic shootings in Tucson, Arizona. National gun violence prevention groups led by Virgina Tech shooting survivor and current Brady Campaign staffer Colin Goddard reached out to organizations and activists all over the country to hold vigils in recognition that there are too many victims of gun violence and advised that we can take steps to help prevent tragedies.

Jennette Franklin and Kaye Tice organized a short vigil at noon following our board meeting at the South Hampton Roads YWCA. It included reading our proclamation that evolved from our gun study committee’s work on Making Common Sense of the Second Amendment and a symbolic casting of flowers into the Lafayette river to commemorate victims. We were joined by several activists from the South Hampton Roads region. Participants shared memories and concerns.