NEW YORK – Recent shootings across the country have fueled calls for more gun control and safety laws.
Rallies to raise awareness of gun violence are being held in the tri-state area, including one Thursday at a high school in West New York, New Jersey, attended by Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker.
The gun safety rally at Memorial High School was an emotional gathering as 19 empty desks and two larger ones were set up on the school’s front lawn to represent the students and teachers killed in the Uvalde school shooting.
The students came out in protest shouting “There is no justice! There is no peace!” before the senators he spoke together with the head of the NJEA teachers’ union.
Before the convocation at Memorial High School, both senators planned to meet with student leaders to hear their ideas and thoughts on what they want to see from Congress on gun reform.
In another demonstration at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, empty chairs set up on campus represent the daily victims of gun violence: red chairs representing those who lost their lives by suicide, blue chairs representing those who were murdered and yellow chairs representing deceased accidental shots.
All of this comes as the Garden State is testing a new way to address gun violence through a hospital intervention program where staff members and social workers help identify patients who are likely to become victims of violence. armed or criminals, especially watching teenagers.
Meanwhile, in the House Judiciary Committee, an emergency session is scheduled on a package of bills on gun violence prevention called the Protect Our Children Act. Among some of the provisions in that bill collection is one to raise the legal age to buy a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21.
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