Phase 2 of Campaign to Launch on Mother’s Day, May 12
Washington, D.C. — In response to the Senate’s irresponsible vote to block common-sense gun policy reforms, gun-violence-prevention advocates today announced the next phase of the #NoMoreNames campaign, a public demonstration designed to draw attention to the appalling number of men, women, and children killed every day by a gun.
The #NoMoreNames campaign originated last week, when families of victims, survivors of gun violence, and advocates gathered at the steps of the U.S. Capitol to continuously read the names of the more than 3,300 individuals killed by a gun since the tragedy in Newtown last December. The public demonstration was intended to remember those who tragically lost their lives and urge Congress to approve common-sense measures that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals.
The vigil took place around the clock with advocates reading names outside the Capitol through the night, often in the rain. It took more than 12 hours to read through the entire list of names once. Over the course of 139 hours, the list of names was read more than 11 times, equaling 36,976 names read aloud—the equivalent of roughly the number of people killed by guns in 1 year, 2 months and 25 days. The list of names was read by families of victims, survivors of gun violence, members of Congress, mayors from around the country, and advocates from a variety of organizations supporting gun policy reform. In all, more than 250 people read names. In the nine days since beginning the vigil, approximately another 720 Americans have died by guns.
The advocates behind the #NoMoreNames vigil will suspend name reading outside the U.S. Capitol today at 10:30 a.m. The campaign will resume on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2013.
When the reading of the names outside the U.S. Capitol concludes today at 10:30 a.m., the final reader will be Christian Heyne, who lost his parents to gun violence and began the vigil last Wednesday. Others readers this week included: Jillian Soto, whose sister Vicki Soto died shielding her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School; Emily Nottingham, the mother of former Rep. Gabby Giffords’ (D-AZ) staffer Gabe Zimmerman who was shot and killed in Tucson, Arizona during the attack on Rep. Giffords’s life; Steve Barton, a survivor of the Aurora, Colorado, shooting; and Lori Haas, whose daughter survived the Virginia Tech shooting; Pat Maisch, who disarmed the shooter in Tucson; Police Chief Jim Johnson of Baltimore County, Maryland; and various members of Congress, including Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), who represents Newtown.
The #NoMoreNames campaign is organized by advocates for stronger gun laws from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Americans for Responsible Solutions, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, chapters of the Million Mom March, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Mom’s Rising, Newtown Action Alliance, Organizing for Action, the PICO National Network, Project to End Gun Violence, Protest Easy Guns, Sojourners, and the Women’s Donor Network.
Campaign resources:
Website: www.NoMoreNames.org
Twitter: #NoMoreNames and @NoMoreNames
For more information, please contact Katie Peters at [email protected] or 202.741.6285.
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