March Brings Out More Than Mothers

Mothers and fathers who have lost children to violence – most often gun violence – and their supporters gathered in Hartford to march, memorialize and rally. Mothers United Against Violence held their fifth annual gathering on Saturday morning in the Capitol city, where participants marched one mile to the Capitol building, pausing at City Hall for a moment of prayer.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, Governor Dannel Malloy, Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and others addressed the crowd on the Capitol steps. Monte Frank and Jay Clark, who bicycled to Washington DC less than three weeks ago with Team 26 in support of common sense gun legislation, rode the 50 plus miles from Sandy Hook to Hartford to join the gathering.

Some winced when Reverand Samuel Saylor, who lost his son in October, 2012, just two months before the Sandy Hook shootings, said he was sick of hearing about Newtown.

“Newtown this. Newtown that. I don’t want to hear about it.”

But moments later, people were brought to tears when he explained how he met a father of one of the Newtown victims at a Gun Violence Conference in Danbury. “When I was sitting next to him he was crying. He cried like I cry. His tears were wet, like my tears. They were full of pain, like my tears were full of pain. He raged, like I raged.”  He continued, “I realized I am Newtown. We are all Newtown.”

Many speakers mentioned pending legislation, both at the state and national level. Connecticut legislation may come as early as next week when the Connecticut General Assembly meets to discuss gun control measures. U.S. Congress will likely consider a gun regulations bill on the Senate floor after Congress returns April 8.