A march organized by the Concerned Citizens Against Violence
Gary legislators ally with Parkland, FL students
Contributed By:The 411 News
Call town hall to get public input on gun control issues
The time is now for young people to get involved in the gun control issue says Indiana State Representatives Charlie Brown and Vernon Smith.
“People are listening to our youth now,” said Rep. Smith. “We called the town hall meeting in alliance with the students from Parkland, Florida who set April 7 as a national town hall meeting day.” Brown and Smith will host the town hall meeting 1 p.m. Saturday, April 7 at the Glen Theatre, 20 W. Ridge Road, Gary.
Following the Valentine’s Day mass shooting at their school that left 14 students and 3 teachers dead, Marjory Stoneman Douglas students have become catalysts in the national movement to reform gun laws. They organized the March for Our Lives on Washington, D.C. that was duplicated in cities across the country on March 24.
Brown and Smith signed up for the students’ current call to action, Town Hall for Our Lives on April 7.
“We want a sizeable turnout from our youth. In urban areas, they are the ones most impacted by gun violence,” said Brown. “They have the insight, knowing when and why it happens. We want the middle-aged, our seniors. We are asking for their perspectives, too.”
For many in America, a sense of hopelessness set in after the mass shooting at the elementary school in Sandy Hook, Conn. when gun reform met resistance and nothing was done.
“We have become immune to the violence,” said Brown.
A reaction to Gary’s high homicide rate from gun violence was the grassroots organization Concerned Citizens Against Violence. They organized marches to remind the public of the lives lost and prodded the city’s leaders, including the police to stem the violence.
But their voices have been quiet recently. Like Brown, Dwight Taylor, an organizer for Concerned Citizens says the community doesn’t seem to care anymore. “Even when we try to help the families of victims, ask them to join in our marches, they don’t want to participate.”
“We won’t quit and we won’t stop; the time is now,” said Rep. Smith.
A march organized by the Concerned Citizens Against Violence
Story Posted:04/01/2018
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