2nd ANNIVERSARY OF NEWTOWN SHOOTINGS INSPIRES NATIONAL CATHEDRAL VIGIL AND NEARLY 200 EVENTS NATIONWIDE

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:
John Kelley
Johnkelley416@gmail.com
917-679-6475

2nd ANNIVERSARY OF NEWTOWN SHOOTINGS INSPIRES NATIONAL CATHEDRAL VIGIL AND NEARLY 200 EVENTS NATIONWIDE

(Newtown, CT, 12/9/14) 194 organizations in 37 states, as well as Mexico, will be holding commemorative events honoring the second anniversary of the Second Hook Elementary School tragedy, it was announced today by the Newtown Action Alliance. The events will take place between December 11th and 14th, coinciding with a vigil service of mourning and remembrance at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. on Thursday, December 11th, coordinated by the Newtown Foundation in partnership with Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, the Washington National Cathedral and allies from across the U.S.

Participants in the vigil at the Washington National Cathedral include travelers from 18 states who are victims and families impacted by gun violence.

The vigils will honor not only the victims and families of the Sandy Hook shooting, which took place on December 14, 2012, but all those who have fallen victim to the ongoing epidemic of gun violence in America.

“We’re thrilled to see so many people joining our efforts in support of the countless Americans affected by senseless gun violence,” said Po Murray, Chairman, Newtown Action Alliance and the Newtown Foundation. “We hope that by commemorating victims, as well as their families and friends, we can focus attention not only on the horrific consequences of gun violence, but also on what we can do to prevent them.”

Ms. Murray continued: “By December 14th, two years after the Sandy Hook School shootings, more than 60,000 Americans will have died from gunshot wounds. And there have been 95 school shootings during the same period. We hope that these vigils inspire a nationwide call to action to end this ongoing tragedy.”

Gun violence is indisputably on the rise in the U.S. According to a study by the Violence Policy Center, gun deaths exceeded motor vehicle deaths in 14 states and the District of Columbia in 2011, the latest year for which the relevant data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is available. That’s up from 12 states in 2010 and 9 states in 2009.

Additionally, the U.S. firearm homicide rate is 20 times higher than the combined rates of 22 countries that are our peers in wealth and population, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

The Newtown Action Alliance is a grassroots organization formed after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Newtown Action Alliance works to bring about legislative and cultural change that will reduce gun violence, a public health crisis in our country.

The Newtown Foundation is a Newtown-based, all volunteer, 501(c)3 organization that has been working tirelessly since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy to help our community heal and be remembered as the place where positive cultural changes began.

###