NATIONAL VIGIL ON DECEMBER 5TH TO MARK 6-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SANDY HOOK SHOOTINGS

For Immediate Release

November 29, 2018

MEDIA ADVISORY

NATIONAL VIGIL ON DECEMBER 5TH TO MARK 6-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SANDY HOOK SHOOTINGS

VIGIL WILL HONOR ALL VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF GUN VIOLENCE

NATIONWIDE VIGILS AND EVENTS TO #EndGunViolence TO BE HELD ACROSS AMERICA

WHAT: The Newtown Foundation, Newtown Action Alliance, American Gun Safety Association, Amnesty International, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Center for American Progress, The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Community of Sant'Egidio, Community Justice Reform Coalition, Docs Demand Action, Everytown Survivor Network, Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, Junior Newtown Action Alliance, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, #NoRA, On Earth Peace, Organizing for Action, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, St. Marks Episcopal Church, Survivors Empowered, Survivors Lead and Women's March are hosting the 6th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence in commemoration of the six-year mark of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, as well as the 600,000+ Americans who have been killed or injured by guns since December 2012. Over 100 family members and survivors directly impacted by gun violence in cities and towns from 21 states, Washington D.C., Scotland and London are expected to attend the National Vigil in Washington D.C. A busload of community members including students from Newtown will also be attending.

The 6th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence on Capitol Hill will lead the Nationwide Vigils and Events to #EndGunViolence across the country. Currently, 90+ local vigils and events are being planned in 24 states and Washington D.C.

WHO:

-100+ families and survivors directly impacted by mass shootings, daily gun violence and gun suicides from towns and cities in 21 states including Parkland, Chicago, Charlotte, Antioch, Santa Fe, Tucson and Newtown

-Survivors from Dunblane, Scotland, mass shooting

-Manuel and Patricia Oliver of CHANGE the REF and parents of Joaquin Oliver, killed in the Parkland shooting

-Mark Sakran M.D., a member of the medical community advocating against gun violence and Board Member of This is Our Lane

-The Connecticut Congressional Delegation: Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Representative Elizabeth Esty

-Mark Erelli, songwriter and singer who recorded “By Degrees” with Roseanne Cash, and Lori McKenna for gun violence prevention

-Doug Hammer, pianist and composer

-Velleda C. Miragias, cello teacher and Chamber Music Coach at the Rivers School Boston University

-ADAM’s BEAT choir

-Charmian Crawford

WHERE:

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Capitol Hill

301 A St SE, Washington, DC 20003

WHEN: December 5, 2018 at 7:00-9:00 PM

CONTACTS:

The Newtown Foundation & Newtown Action Alliance:

John Kelley

jkelley@newtownaction.org; 917-679-6475

Jr. Newtown Action Alliance:

jrNAA@newtownaction.org

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence:

Deborah Rephan

202.374.1275

Community of Sant’Egidio:

Athena Mison Fulay

santegidiodc@gmail.com

Everytown Survivor Network:

Press@Everytown.org

Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence:

Claire Markham

cmarkham@americanprogress.org

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America:

media@momsdemandaction.org

Organizing for Action:

Jesse Lehrich

jlehrich@ofa.us

St Marks Episcopal Church Capitol Hill

The Rev. Michele H. Morgan, 12th Rector

Michele@st.marks.net; 202-543-0053

States United to Prevent Gun Violence:

Nick Wilson
nick@ceasefireusa.org

Women’s March

wm@megaphonestrategies.com

Community Justice Reform Coalition
awoeni@cjrcoalition.org

Survivors Lead

Info@survivorslead.com

###

The Newtown Foundation (TNF) is a charitable arm of the Newtown Action Alliance. It is a Newtown-based; all volunteer organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is “To provide comfort, education, scholarship and other support and resources to people and communities impacted by, and living or growing up among or in the aftermath, of violence in American society; and to help them lead the way toward positive cultural change over the long term.” Learn more about the Newtown Foundation at http://foundation.newtownaction.org/.

Newtown Action Alliance is a grassroots organization formed after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It works to make America’s children, families, and all citizens safer through legislative and cultural change that will reduce gun violence in our nation. Learn more about the Newtown Action Alliance athttp://alliance.newtownaction.org/.

American Gun Safety Association is working to pass state laws for coordinated regulation of firearms and their owners, like we have for motor vehicles. We have no nationwide system to manage the rights and responsibilities of gun owners and balance these with public safety needs, like we have for cars and trucks. AGSA is committed to developing and adopting a "Model Code for Safe and Responsible Firearm Ownership and Operation." This will give us unified systems of responsibility for gun ownership and use, like we have in all 50 states for cars and trucks. Join AGSA, challenge the NRA! https://www.agsaaction.org/

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

The Brady Campaign and Center, united with the Million Mom March, is a national network of more than 90 grassroots chapter affiliates mobilized to prevent gun violence at the community level. The network has played a vital role in expanding Brady background checks in the six states that have passed legislation since the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and produced the largest national protest of gun violence in U.S. history - The Million Mom March, Mother’s Day 2000. The mission of the Brady organization and its Million Mom March is to create a safer America by cutting gun deaths in half by 2025. For more insight on gun violence prevention, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @BradyBuzz.

The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reflect these values. We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence seeks to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement, and effective policy advocacy.

The Community Justice Reform Coalition (CJRC) is a national advocacy organization with the focus of addressing the intersection of gun violence prevention and uplifting criminal justice reform in urban communities of color. CJRC centers people of color across movements by creating spaces at policymaking tables, building pipelines for marginalized communities to lead on gun safety, and establishing networks to share skills and strategies across generations of trusted organizers. CJRC is the only national organization in the country working on gun violence prevention in communities of color and centering voices of color in the gun safety movement. Learn more about CJRC at www.communityjusticerc.org.

Everytown Survivor Network brings together Americans who have been personally affected by gun violence to work together to fight for solutions to prevent the gun violence that kills 93 Americans and injures hundreds more every day. The Survivor Network connects people who have been shot and loved ones of those who have been shot or killed, to build community and empower survivors to become advocates and leaders in the gun violence prevention movement. The Survivor Network, along with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than three million members and more than 140,000 donors. To learn more about Everytown's work with survivors or to join the Survivor Network, please visit www.everytown.org/survivors.

Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence is a diverse coalition of more than 50 denominations and faith-based organizations united by the call of our faiths to confront America’s gun violence epidemic and to rally support for policies that reduce death and injury from gunfire. Learn more about Faiths United at http://faithsunited.org.

Junior Newtown Action Alliance (Jr NAA) is a club at Newtown High School in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, that is focused on empowering students locally and beyond to end gun violence in America.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families. Since its inception after the tragedy at Sandy Hook School, Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and, along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Everytown Survivor Network, it is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than three million supporters and more than 140,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visitwww.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter at @MomsDemand

#NoRA (https://noranow.org/) is a new kind of collective action. We’re a culture hack. We’re diverse coalition of artists, activists, celebrities, survivors of gun violence, and policy experts working to move American culture into a less violent place by counteracting the influence of NRA money in our political system. And we’re going to win.

On Earth Peace equips and accompanies Beloved Communities of justice and peace. We envision a world in Beloved Community free from violence, oppression, and war. We work with the spiritual and practical disciplines of active nonviolence, community building, and conflict transformation.

Organizing for Action (OFA) is a non-partisan, issue advocacy organization committed to growing the grassroots movement by training, educating, and activating civically-engaged community members across the country. As a grassroots driven organization, OFA is dedicated to empowering action-takers with the skills and tools needed to tip the scales of power back to the American people and away from the special interests in Washington, D.C. More information at www.ofa.us.www.barackobama.com.

States United to Prevent Gun Violence (www.ceasefireusa.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to making our families and communities safer. As part of our 50 State Solution to end gun violence, we support our 31 existing state-based gun violence prevention groups and work to bring new partners into the movement.

St Mark’s Episcopal Church is an open community, welcoming people wherever they are on their faith journey. We celebrate the gifts of God that empower us to engage boldly in the struggles of life and care for others with love, justice, and compassion. Learn more about St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at http://www.stmarks.net.

Survivors Empowered (https://www.survivorsempowered.org/) is an organization founded by Sandy and Lonnie Phillips after the slaughter of their daughter, Jessica Redfield Ghawi and eleven others in the Aurora Colorado Theater Mass Shooting in 2012. Their original non-profit, Jessi’s Message, has grown into Survivors Empowered - a national organization created By Survivors, For Survivors, Empowering Survivors.

Survivors Lead provides professional and peer support, advocacy and political training for Survivors of gun violence, sexual and domestic violence. We take a municipality-based approach to curbing gun violence, focused on survivor-led efforts to end gun violence in our cities. We work with families and assist them in advocating for their murdered loved one in unsolved/active cases, provide survivor peer support throughout the trial process and beyond. We are developing retreats between survivors of police violence and law enforcement cadets to address police violence and mass incarceration, and offer political trainings to assist survivors of violence in running for public office.

The mission of Women’s March is to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change. Women’s March is a women-led movement providing intersectional education on a diverse range of issues and creating entry points for new grassroots activists and organizers to engage in their local communities through trainings, outreach programs and events. Women’s March is committed to dismantling systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity and respect.

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