Scranton vigil calls for action, remembers Sandy Hook shooting
Dec. 14—As a mother of two small children, Aiala Levy is concerned about the lack of meaningful change in the decade since 20 first graders and six adults were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She, her husband, Timur Akhunov, and daughters Lila, 4, and Leonor Akhunov, 2, joined about two dozen people Wednesday night at St. Luke's Episcopal Church for a candlelight vigil commemorating the anniversary of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The Lackawanna County chapter of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots gun violence prevention organization, hosted the event. Afterward, Levy said she was inspired to attend because of "everything that's been going on with gun violence."
"I don't feel like much has changed since Sandy Hook in terms of frequency (of shootings) and inaction on the government," the Scranton resident said. She believes it is possible to find common ground on gun laws that protect the right to have them while keeping everyone safe.
There have been more than 600,000 gun deaths and injuries since the Sandy Hook massacre, Moms Demand Action volunteer Heather Davis said in opening remarks prepared by chapter leader Sheli Pratt-McHugh.In 2020 alone, there were 45,000 gun deaths, organizers said. Firearms were the leading cause of death for children 1 to 18, with around 3,000 deaths the same year.
"We pledge ourselves to make a difference by remembering those who have been lost and committing ourselves to helping our local community promote gun safety," Davis said as candles flickered in white bags in the sanctuary windowsills.
While gun deaths and injuries are pervasive in the U.S., those who spoke expressed hope for solutions to end the violence. They pointed to the federal Safer Communities Act, signed into law last summer, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "frame or receiver" rule subjecting 3-D printed weapons called ghost guns to the same rules as firearms, and an assault weapons ban introduced by the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as background checks and violence prevention programs.
Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti is pushing to end the state's pre-emption laws, which she said prohibit municipalities from regulating guns on their grounds.
She recalled being a senior in high school in 1998 when a shooter killed two and injured 25 at Thurston High School in Oregon two hours from where she went to high school .
"I live with the deep, deep fear that Scranton could be followed by or in front of the word 'shooting,' " she said. "It's our job every day to do everything we can to prevent that from becoming the first thing you see in a Google search."
Scranton resident Amber Viola, commander of American Legion Post 274 in Gouldsboro, said easy access to guns in homes, particularly handguns, contribute to many deaths each year. The Navy veteran who attended with her 6-year old daughter, Jacquelyn, said 68% of veterans who commit suicide use firearms.
Resident Billie Tadros said easy access led to the tragedy at Sandy Hook and the suicide of her father, Jacob Tadros, at age 49 in 2005. She is an Everytown Survivor Fellow, a two-year volunteer leadership program open to survivors of gun violence across the country.
"Too easy," said the Scranton resident and University of Scranton English professor, adding 58% of Americans have personally experienced gun violence.
Tadros spoke about the survivors gun violence leaves behind, reading the obituaries of Sandy Hook victims Daniel Barden, Rachel D'Avino and Olivia Engel at Wednesday's vigil.
As the vigil concluded, St. Luke's Rector Rev. Rebecca A. Barnes read a poem remembering all affected by gun violence and offered prayers. Then, the church's bell tolled as the attendees held a minute of silence.
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