For Immediate Release:
December 14, 2022
For More Information:
Adam Garber, (267) 515-1220, adam@ceasefirepa.org
Josh Fleitman, (412) 426-5148, josh.fleitman@ceasefirepa.org
MEDIA ADVISORY
Vigils Across Commonwealth Remember Lives Lost at Sandy Hook & Since Then
Harrisburg, PA — 15,000 Pennsylvainans have died from gun violence in the decade since 20 children and six educators were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. CeaseFirePA Education Fund, faith leaders, survivors, doctors and a network of community partners hosted 10 vigils in two weeks to remember those who will no longer join holiday gatherings because of gun violence.
“The massacre at Sandy Hook accelerated a movement to save lives from this crisis. Despite the major victories this last year from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to investments in violence prevention programs, there are too many empty chairs at the holiday table,” said Adam Garber, CeaseFirePA Education Fund’s Executive Director. “We remember those lost to this crisis today and every day, fighting to ensure there are not more empty chairs next year.
The 10 vigils commemorated a decade of mass shootings that have invaded churches, synagogues, schools, colleges and grocery stores. Pennsylvania experiences a mass shooting where four or more people are injured about every 10 days. Next year, the generation of children who were the same age of the children at Sandy Hook will graduate from High school.
“Mass shootings occur so often at this point, that I’m desensitized to hearing about them. Sometimes I feel guilty for not feeling the same shock and sadness that I once did, said Alana Beal, a senior at West Mifflin High School in the Pittsburgh suburbs, at a North Hills vigil. “But my desensitization has settled into a deep paranoia. Every public place that I’m in, I think about the possibility of a shooting… I feel like it’s only a matter of time, and that it’s not an ‘if,’ but a ‘when.'”
The crisis has spiraled out of control in the last two years with gun violence becoming the top killer of Pennsylvania children. Meanwhile, parents have turned their grieving into demands for life-saving action.
“The pain don’t go away. But you learn to live with it, to accept it,” said Yvette Jennings, a mother who lost two of her seven children to gun violence, one from suicide and another from homicide. “So there’s always two empty chairs. There were two empty chairs at my daughter’s wedding, and then at my granddaughter’s wedding. Holidays aren’t the same anymore… There’s no reason that our children should have to feel this way, should have to live in the world the way it is today.”
Trauma centers have improved their responses to mass shootings and other acts of gun violence, decreasing the fatality rate of shootings. But, with increasing acts of violence, the toll has risen.
“Despite all the medical technology and skilled providers, we aren’t able to save everyone. Gun violence is a public health emergency and has reached epidemic proportions. We don’t have to accept this as the new norm,” said Danielle Decker, a trauma nurse, at the Delaware County Vigil.
New leaders are prioritizing gun safety policies. In Pennsylvania that includes a gun safety majority in the PA House of Representatives for the first time since Sandy Hook.
“I practice at Allegheny General Hospital, which is a Level 1 trauma center. So I’ve seen every type of gunshot victim that you can possibly imagine — from the two-year-old who was accidentally shot from a gun that was being mishandled by their older sibling, to victims of a mass shooting, to the one-on-one gun violence that we unfortunately are seeing more and more of in every location,” said Dr. Arvind Venkat, an Emergency Physician and newly-elected State Representative in Pittsburgh’s North Hills. “The vast majority of individuals in our community know that this is a public health crisis, and that we have to treat it accordingly. We can no longer tolerate this scourge of gun violence. My commitment is that I will be a partner, an ally, and an advocate to address gun violence and to make sure that this issue is put behind us.”
DETAILS ON VIGILS
Pictures and video of the vigils are available for use in media stories. Contact Adam Garber at adam.garber@ceasefirepa.org to request copies.
PHILADELPHIA REGION
Delaware County
When: Wednesday, December 7th, 7:00 PM
Where: Reformation Lutheran Church, 102 W Rose Tree Rd, Media, PA 19063
Contact: carol@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/delaware-sandy-hook-vigil
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Chester County
When: Saturday, December 10th, 2:00 PM
Where: Unitarian Congregation of West Chester, 501 S High St, West Chester, PA 193824
Contact: carol@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/chesco-sandy-hook-vigil
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Bucks County
When: Monday, December 12th, 7:00 PM
Where: Salem United Church of Christ, 186 E Court St, Doylestown, PA 18901
Contact: carol@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/bucks_sandy_hook_vigil
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City of Philadelphia
When: Wednesday, December 14th, 5:30 PM
Where: Broad Street Ministry, 315 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Contact: Roz@CeaseFirePA.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/vigil-philadelphia
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Montgomery County
When: Wednesday, December 14th, 7:30 PM
Where: Congregation Beth Am Israel, 1301 Hagys Ford Rd, Penn Valley, PA 19072
Contact: carol@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/montco-sandy-hook-vigil
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ERIE
When: Thursday, December 8th, 7:00 PM
Where: Temple Anshe Hesed, 5401 Old Zuck Rd, Erie, PA 16506
Contact: josh.fleitman@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/sandy-hook-vigil-erie
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ALLEGHENY COUNTY
North Hills
When: Thursday, December 1st, 7:00 PM
Where: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 1965 Ferguson Rd, Allison Park, PA 15101
Contact: josh.fleitman@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/north-hills-sandy-hook-vigil
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South Hills
When: Tuesday, December 13th, 7:00 PM
Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills, 1240 Washington Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15228
Contact: beth@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/empty-chairs-south-hills-10-years-after-sandy-hook
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City of Pittsburgh
When: Thursday, December 15th, 7:00 PM
Where: Bidwell Presbyterian Church, 1025 Liverpool St, Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Contact: beth@ceasefirepa.org
RSVP to learn more and receive updates: https://act.ceasefirepa.org/a/pittsburgh-vigil-10-years-after-sandy-hook
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As the Commonwealth’s leading gun violence prevention organization, CeaseFirePA Education Fund organizes communities closest to the issue, holds those in power accountable, and maximizes the strengths of every member in its broad coalition.
