Following an interfaith worship service Sunday, several dozen people walked the streets of Doylestown carrying signs and frames with T-shirts bearing the names of Bucks County citizens killed by gun violence.
Supporters of “Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence” said they hope to call attention to the need for advocacy, public education and gun reform legislation.
Clergy and others joined people such as Liz Fritsch, a member of Doylestown Friends Meeting, to take part in the “Witness Walk.”
“We are here to advocate against gun violence and as a call to action,” said Fritsch, as she walked up Main Street in the borough.
Peter Martin echoed Fritsch. “We are marching to end gun violence,” he said.
Asked if he had hope that was possible, the Newtown Quaker said, “My faith tells me I have to have faith.”
Those carrying t-shirts represented each of the 44 Bucks County residents killed by a gun murder in the past decade. That total does not include those who used a gun to die by suicide.
“Each name represents a whole human being, a child of God. Each death deserves to be noted and mourned,” Heeding God’s Call organizers said.
“This is not an anti-gun movement, it doesn’t question the Second Amendment,” stressed Beth Mann, chair of Salem United Church of Christ’s social action network, in a earlier comment.
“Heeding God’s Call” and the “Gun Violence Awareness Day” it organized Sunday in Doylestown favor sensible gun laws, elimination of illegal handguns and an end to gun violence, organizers said.
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