‘Change is in the air’ as Orange Walk honors victims of gun violence

About 70 people clad in various shades of orange braved brisk winds and chilly temperatures Sunday night to participate in a downtown Las Vegas walk commemorating the third anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and honoring survivors and victims of gun violence.

The Orange Walk to #EndGunViolence was organized by the Nevada chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, to heighten awareness and push for action to end gun violence.

Before the walk, several people shared statements with the crowd.

"Change is in the air," said Sue Brooks, one of the leaders of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. "This is what a tipping point looks like, and Nevada is in the forefront for 2016," she said, referring to a 2016 ballot measure that would require an unlicensed person who wishes to sell or transfer a firearm to someone to conduct the transfer through a licensed gun dealer who runs a background check.

Brooks, a retired elementary schoolteacher, said she was distressed about gun violence after the Columbine shootings and later middle school shootings, but didn't get involved until three years ago. "Then Sandy Hook happened, and my heart broke," she said of the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that took the lives of 26 students and teachers. "At that moment, I knew I needed to take action."

Where Congress hasn't taken action, Brooks said, "we will.

"America has 20 times the gun violence than any other developed country. We are better than that. If we stand together we know we can end gun violence."

Another speaker Bilal Shabazz, 67, of Henderson, spoke of his own experience with gun violence. "Gun violence is destroying this country," he said. "That's not my opinion. That's a fact."

He recounted the loss of his soon-to-be-born granddaughter when her 7-months pregnant mother, Shabazz' daughter-in-law, was shot in the abdomen.

"That's not something you ever forget," he said.

Organizers said they also plan to rally Tuesday during the GOP presidential debate this week.

Sara VanderHaagan, a UNLV communication studies professor, brought her 2-year-old daughter, Phoebe, bundled in an orange blanket inside a stroller, to the walk.

"I study how persuasive discourse works in public. Part of that, I have to believe, is that we as a people can use language — we can use rhetoric— to make change, and I see Everytown as a group that's really working on that and can actually be effective to partially balance against the money and the NRA (National Rifle Association) in particular," she said.

While she said she knows her daughter is too young to understand the issue, VanderHaagen said she felt it was important to bring her. "I want her to see people coming together. I want her to see we can come together to make change."

Another participant Pete Vasquez said the Orange Walk allows people to make a statement.

"We're here because we are all concerned about gun violence," said Vasquez, who was accompanied by Priscilla Finley and their greyhound Diego.

"We've got to do something. We can't sit on the sidelines. We can't be intimidated."

Orange Walk participants had some uninvited company Sunday night as an estimated 100 members of group Nevada Second Amendment ashowed up across from the walk's kickoff point and strolled along the walk route, chanting slogans and carrying their own signs. Neither group engaged the other, and the walk proceeded peacefully and without incident.

Earl Loewen, a spokesman for the group, said the organization wanted to show its support of the Second Amendment in Nevada.

"Everytown and Bloomberg has made a big presence in Nevada to basically try to change our rights," he said. "We're here just to say we believe in our Second Amendment rights. We believe in being peaceful, being armed, basically protecting our rights."

Loewen said the group wasn't trying to "take anything away" from the Orange Walk participants.

"We just want to let them know there are two ways to go about being peaceful and that having law-abiding people being armed doesn't end peace."

Contact Marian Green at mgreen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5245.