PHOENIX — Dozens of activists, politicians, and others gathered at the Arizona State Capitol Wednesday for a vigil in the name of the victims of Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The goal was to remember the 21 victims, 19 of them children, and to pressure state lawmakers to enact legislation to ensure gun safety in the future.
Maya Zuckerberg, 17, will graduate from high school on Thursday. Wednesday she helped organize the vigil. She has been working with March For Our Lives since the Parkland, Florida shooting in 2018.
“We’ve become the generation of school shootings, and that is heartbreaking to me,” Zuckerberg said Wednesday night. “If we can put pressure, if we can get a law passed, then this is worth it.”
Arizona state representative Jennifer Longdon (D - LD 5) was one of the night’s most forceful speakers.
“Children are dying! Are you mad?” Longdon asked the crowd. The crowd responded “Yes!” “Don’t give in to the exhaustion. Be resolute,” Longdon told the crowd.
Longdon has sponsored 23 bills in the legislature by herself this session, according to the state legislature’s website. Ten of those bills had something to do with changing gun laws.
“We have so many other pieces of common sense legislation we can’t get heard. And you should be angry! your voices aren’t being heard down here no matter how much we try,” Longdon said.
19 pairs of children’s shoes were laid out in front of the Capitol for the 19 child victims.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.