Opponents Protest in Face of NRA Silence on Conn. School Shooting
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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Faced with the National Rifle Association’s silence in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., opponents of the group are taking to Washington, D.C., to protest.
Chanting “Shame on the NRA,” a couple hundred activists marched on Monday from a park on Capitol Hill to the NRA’s office.
A nonprofit group called CREDO Mobile organized the “emergency march” in the wake of the killing of 20 children and six adults last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School and suggested that the NRA contributed to the gruesome murder through the policies it promotes.
Holding a sign reading, “I’m a victim of gun violence,” Eddie Weingart, a massage therapist from Silver Spring, Md., recounted how his mother was shot and murdered by her ex-husband, who also tried to shoot him when he was just 2 years old.
“My mother was slain by her estranged ex-husband with a 12-gauge shotgun. He then turned that gun on me, and it malfunctioned, the fortunate reason is why I’m here today,” Weingart told ABC News. “I refuse to be silent. That’s why I come to these protests. I choose to be a voice to let the NRA and other supporters of the Second Amendment and gun advocacy rights know that this affects me, this affects my family, it affects many families throughout our country.”
The National Rifle Association has kept for the most part silent for the days following the attack, which was carried out with legally-purchased guns.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio