Tonight, San Francisco gun advocates will demand action at City Hall.
The San Francisco chapter of the Brady Campaign, a national organization dedicated to preventing gun violence, is holding a vigil to end gun violence in honor of the 58 people killed and over 500 injured in Las Vegas during one of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The vigil is part of a nationwide effort to push for "common-sense gun laws," organizers said in a a press release and will take place tonight from 6 to 7pm in front of City Hall.
Around the country, Brady chapters are gathering for vigil to honor victims & survivors in Vegas & call for action to prevent gun violence pic.twitter.com/zlgOlkGanR
— Brady Campaign (@Bradybuzz) October 6, 2017
"We hope to have at least a hundred people [there]," Emma Tao White, VP of the San Francisco Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence told us via email. When asked about the program, she said that "there will be speakers, prayers, and some music."
According to a mission statement on its website, the Brady Campaign wants to cut gun deaths in half by 2025.
White said she expects Catherine Stefani from Moms Demand Action, Michael Pappas from San Francisco Interfaith Council, Dan Chen from the office of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, SFPD Chief William Scott, Eve Meyer from SF Suicide Prevention and Hannah Shearer from the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to be among the speakers.
Stacee Etcheber, a Novato resident married to a SFPD officer from Northern Station, was one of the victims who died in the shooting. Her family set up a GoFundMe site to support her children "as they work to process their grief and continue their education."
"We are sending our deepest condolences and sympathies to the hundreds of families affected by this senseless act of gun violence," Mayor Ed Lee said in a statement earlier this week.
He also added that the nation needs stricter gun laws. "We cannot continue to play politics with American lives," he said.
Vigil organizers also note that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wrote Speaker Paul Ryan in a letter that "congress has a moral duty to address this horrific and heartbreaking epidemic."
"Charged with the solemn duty to protect and defend the American people, we must respond to these tragedies with courage, unity and decisive action," she added.
Pelosi also called for the creation of a select committee to investigate gun violence.
