Americans To Gather For "We Stand With Newtown" Events In Ten States On Friday To Commemorate Six-Month Anniversary Of Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2013  /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gun violence survivors, faith leaders, veterans, gun-owners and concerned citizens will join together in a day of remembrance and a call to action at events in ten states Friday to commemorate the six-month anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT that took the lives of 26 victims. Attendees will ask senators to "take a second look" at their votes against background check legislation and call on House members to co-sponsor bipartisan background check legislation by Reps. Mike Thompson and Pete King.

The events coincide with Mayors Against Illegal Guns' official launch of its "No More Names:  National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" tour from Newtown. The tour will go to 25 states over a period of 100 days. At each stop on the tour, gun violence survivors, their families and concerned community members will rally in support of gun violence prevention efforts and to urge their representatives in Washington to support background checks that will reduce gun violence.

Every day, 33 Americans are murdered with guns in the United States. This past April, a minority of U.S. senators voted to block bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey that would have helped keep guns out of the hands of criminals by requiring background checks for commercial gun sales. Recent independent polls have found that more than 90 percent of Americans support background checks for all gun sales.      

Event details are below (all times local.)

ARKANSAS

Little Rock

What:     We Stand with Newtown Rally; Calling on Senator Mark Pryor to Take a Second Look at Manchin-Toomey Compromise Bill

Who:       Angela Bradford , survivor of gun violence, Clay Robinson, survivor of gun violence,  Sgt. Phillips, L.R. Police Department, Richard Moorehead, Charles Austin, SW L.R. Fire Chiefs, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:   Allsop Park, 3700 Cedar Hill Rd., Little Rock, AR 72205 (Mid-town off Cantrell and Kavanaugh)

When:     Friday, June 14, 11:00 AM

ARIZONA

Phoenix

What:    We Stand with Newtown Rally; Calling on Senator Jeff Flake to Take a Second Look at Manchin-Toomey Compromise Bill

Who:     Otis Smith, survivor of gun violence, Chris Kitaeff, Federal Firearms License, David Lucier, veteran, Arizonans for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Organizing For Action, AZPASS, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:   300 E Indiana School Rd., Indian Steele Park (Volleyball Court area), Phoenix, AZ 85012

When:     Friday, June 14, 7:00 PM

FLORIDA

Miami

What:      We Stand with Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Ileana Roslehtinen to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:        Cindy Lerner, Mayor of Pinecrest. Bradford Brown, Vice President NAACP – Miami-Dade Co., Sam Feldman, Vice President of Venezuelan American  Democratic Club and Veterans for Peace, Organizing For Action, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:   Stephen P. Clark Building (County Administration Bldg.) 111 NW 1st Street, Miami, FL 33128

When:     Friday, June 14th, 12:00 PM

GEORGIA

Atlanta

What:    We Stand with Newtown Rally; Calling on Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss to Take a Second Look at the Manchin-Toomey Compromise Bill

Who:     Lucy McBath, survivor of gun violence, Melissa Kornfeld, survivor of gun violence and John Starbuck, survivor of gun violence, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Grandmothers for Peace and Justice, Organizing For Action, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:   In front of Senator Isakson's Office, One Overton Park, 3625 Cumberland Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30339

When:     Friday, June 14, 11:00 AM

INDIANA

Indianapolis

What:    We Stand with Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Susan Brooks to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:     Steve Dunlop, Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence and Nicki McNally, Moms Demand Action, Organizing For Action, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Hoosiers Concerned about Gun Violence, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns   

Where:  Monon Train, Corner of Westfield Blvd and Riviera, Indianapolis, 46220

When:   Friday, June 14 11:00 AM

Gary

What:    We Stand with Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Pete Visclosky to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:     Wade Ingram, City of Gary Police Chief, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:  Gateway Park, 399 Broadway Gary, IN 46402

When:   Friday, June 14th, 11:00 AM

MONTANA

Bozeman

What:    We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Senator Max Baucus to Take a Second Look at the Manchin-Toomey Compromise Bill

Who:     Sean Becker, Mayor of Bozeman, and Scott Swanson, Retired Deputy Chief of Police for Santa Rosa, CA, Organizing For Action, Montana Chapter of National Organization of Women, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:   Gallatin Labor Temple, 422 E Mendenhall Street, Bozeman, MT, 59715 (across from Hawthorne Elementary School and City Hall).

When:    Friday, June 14, 2:00 PM

NORTH CAROLINA

Charlotte

What:     We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Robert Pittenger to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:     Suzanne Conway, Kamaria Lawrence, Teacher, Organizing For Action, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Peace/Action and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:  West Charlotte Recreation Center, 2401 Kendall Drive Charlotte, NC 28216. 

When:    Friday, June 14, 11:00 AM 

Wilmington

What:    We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Mike McIntyre to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:    Bert Blake, Hunter and Gun Owner, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns. 

Where:  In front of the Federal Building, 2 Princess St, Wilmington, NC 28401

When:   Friday, June 14, 10:30 AM

Durham

What:    We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative G.K. Butterfield to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:     Jim Clark, gun owner, and Gavin O'Hara, Dad's Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Organizing for America, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, Forward Americans, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:    Outside Representative Butterfield's District Office, 411 W. Chapel Hill Street, Suite 905 Durham, NC 27701

When:   Friday, June 14, 10:30 AM

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Salem

What:   We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Senator Kelly Ayotte to Take a Second Look at Manchin-Toomey Compromise Bill

Who:   Judy Stadtman, New Hampshire Project for Safer Communities, Organizing For Action, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:  Tuscan Kitchen, 67 Main Street, Salem, NH 03079

When:     Friday, June 14th, 11:00 AM

OHIO

Hilliard

What:       We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Steve Stivers to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:   Kelly Cameron, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Colleen Ogle, United Methodist Church, Organizing For Action, Community and Faith Leaders, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:    Hilliard Municipal Building, 3800 Municipal Way, Hilliard, OH 43026

When:   Friday, June 14, 12:00 PM

Twinsburg

What:         We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative David Joyce to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:     Lori O'Neil with National Council of Jewish Women, and Pastor Kristine Eggert of Disciples Christian Church, Organizing For Action, Summit County Progressives, Community and Faith Leaders, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where: Twinsburg Township Square, Darrow Rd & Aurora Rd, Twinsburg, Ohio 44087 ‎

When:  Friday, June 14, 4:00 PM

PENNSYLVANIA

Allentown

What:  We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Charlie Dent to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:    Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown, Roy Del Rosario, Mayor of Hamuburg, Jose Rosado, Mayor of Fountain Hill, Julio Guridy Allentown City Council President, CeCe Gerlach, Allentown District School Board Director, and Basilio Bonilla, Jr., Board of Directors, Bethlehem Area School District, Organizing For Action, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:    Allentown City Hall Steps, 435 Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101

When:   Friday, June 14, 4:00 PM

Mt. Lebanon

What:   We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Tim Murphy to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:     Shawntika Rice, Co-Chair of Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network Anti Violence Task Force, Rob Conroy, Western PA Coordinator of CeaseFirePA, and Rhonda Paglia, Retired School Teacher and Author of "The Little Lambs and their Special Mission"- A book dedicated to the Children of Newtown, CT, CeaseFirePA, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:     Unitarian Church of the South Hills, 1240 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, PA 15236

When:   Friday, June 14, 5:00 PM

West Chester

What:  We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Jim Gerlach to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:     Tom Buglio, Director for West Chester Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, Cassandra Jones, Vice President of West Chester Borough Council, and Shira Goodman, Executive Director for CeaseFirePA, Organizing For Action, West Chester Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:    Chester County Courthouse Steps, 2 North High Street, West Chester, PA 19380

When:     Friday, June 14, 12:00 PM

Wormleysburg

What:        We Stand With Newtown Rally; Calling on Representative Scott Perry to Support the King-Thompson Compromise Bill

Who:      Christine Licata, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Where:    Office of U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, 730 North Front Street, Wormleysburg, PA 17043

When:        Friday, June 14, 2:00 PM

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 950 mayors from across the country. We have more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country.  The bipartisan coalition, co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has united the nation's mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns.  Learn more at www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org

MEDIA CONTACT

Kate Downen: [email protected] or 406-224-5056
Jack Warner: [email protected] or 914-575-1090

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns