Faith leaders, public officials and community members gathered at Madison’s First Congregational United Church of Christ Thursday to hold a candlelight vigil supporting efforts to end gun violence.
Although speakers at the event represented multiple faith organizations, each emphasized speaking out and taking action to advocate gun control, an issue that has gained attention nationwide in the wake of a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that left 26 people dead, many of them children.
The Rev. David Moyer, conference minister at the Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ, said the increasing violence found in society, particularly gun violence, “falls far short” of what the U.S. should be able to do for its citizens.
“The heart of God is breaking at this violence that we human beings commit against one another,” he said.
Linda Ketcham, executive director of Madison Area Urban Ministry, said the call for gun control is grounded in many things, including being a parent.
Ketcham also said it is absurd “that one can carry a weapon into our statehouse, but not a sign.”
A Wisconsin law allowing concealed weapons in public buildings, including the capitol, went into effect November 2011.
State Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, who attended the vigil, said efforts against gun violence can start with keeping concealed-carry weapons out of state buildings.
“We need to get guns out of the capitol and state buildings, leading by example to keep us all safe,” Hulsey said, adding that this includes buildings on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Hulsey added his aunt committed suicide using a handgun. He called the vigil “motivational and uplifting.”
Jeri Bonavia, executive director of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, a statewide grassroots organization that sponsored the event, has been working on the issue of gun control for 18 years.
Bonavia said people should make a commitment to gun control efforts, such as making phone calls and writing letters to their representatives in state and national legislatures.
“Hope is wonderful,” she said. “But hope is not a gun-violence prevention strategy.”
