Twenty six cyclists rode 400 miles from Reed Intermediate School in Newtown, CT to the West lawn of the US Capital. They rode for hope and they rode for peace. They rode with Grace at their wheel.
They rode for Charlotte Bacon, 6 years old, Daniel Barden, 7 years old, Rachel D'Avino, 29 years old, Olivia Engel, 6, Josephine Gay, 7, Dylan Hockley, 6, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47, Madeleine F. Hsu, 6, Catherine V. Hubbard, 6, Chase Kowalski, 7, Nancy Lanza, 52, Jesse Lewis, 6, Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, James Mattioli, 6, Grace McDonnell, 7, Anne Marie Murphy, 52, Emilie Parker, 6, Jack Pinto, 6, Noah Pozner, 6, Caroline Previdi, 6, Jessica Rekos, 6, Avielle Richman, 6, Lauren Rousseau, 30, Mary Sherlach, 56, Victoria Soto, 27, Benjamin Wheeler, 6 and Allison N. Wyatt, 6.
"Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm. " - President Obama - Inaugural address
February 13, 2013 FaceBook
WE DESERVE ACTION
Thank you Mr. President and Members of Congress for focusing on my Town - Newtown - last night, and for inviting our 1st Selectman, SHS teachers, 1st Responders, and members of our families to the State of the Union address.
As a result of unnecessary gun violence, my town has suffered an unspeakable tragedy and is suffering the ultimate pain of losing our children.
Yes - we deserve a vote!
However, we deserve much more than a vote!
We deserve meaningful action.
Congress - you owe that to Newtown. You owe us a commitment to get it done.
While it will never bring back our 20 beautiful children or 6 exceptional educators, or eradicate the pain and suffering of this community, it will provide a little bit of solace to know that the horrific events that occurred in our quiet New England town will be less likely to occur again here or anywhere else. It will provide a little bit of comfort that our children did not die in vain.
Please join us on this most important and historic journey to protect the most fundamental rights for our children - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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Sandy Hook Ride on Washington
We support measures to help curb gun violence:
• requiring all gun buyers pass criminal background checks*
• a ban of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines*
• making gun trafficking a federal crime, including real penalties for “straw buyers”*
• strengthen gun ownership restrictions for people with severe mental illness
We understand this issue is complex; but together we can ensure that specific actions are taken to prevent tragedies like those in Newtown, CT. Keeping children safe is an obligation we all share.
*source: Mayors Against Illegal Guns:
The Team of 26 consists of professional and top amateur and masters cyclists from the Northeast. Our team includes a former NCAA champion, Junior World Championships National Team member, US National Team member, Canadian National Team member, Masters National Champion, and State and Regional Champions. Three members of the Team are from Newtown, including Monte Frank, Bill Muzzio and Chris Peck.
Take the Sandy Hook Promise
I Promise to honor the 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
I Promise to do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community and our country safer from similar acts of violence.
The Real Connecticut Effect
Photography by Peter Hvizdak / New Haven Register
Sandy Hook School Team 26, a group of 26 cyclists, get a send-off at the Reed Intermediate School in Newtown, Connecticut Saturday, March 9, 2013. The 26 cyclists will ride the 400 miles in 4-days to the Capitol in Washington DC to memorialize those killed at the Sandy Hook School, December 14, 2012. The ride aims to raise awareness for immediate and strict gun control legislation in an effort to curb gun violence and the need to institute an assault weapons ban.
LET'S SHOW WAYNE LAPIERRE THE CONNECTICUT EFFECT!
Time for a virtual march against the NRA's callous comment. All you need to do for this march is to get 10 of your friends to like the Sandy Hook Ride on Washington facebook page. In doing so, you will help spread the word about our grassroots effort for common sense gun laws, something responsible gun owners want, but the NRA no longer does. So, call and email your friends with our link, www.facebook.com/sandyhookrideonwashington, share this post and ask them to like our page (not the post). Let's show Wayne that WE ARE NEWTOWN, and we're not going away. March on!
We stand with you and Congresswoman Giffords and Mark Kelly and demand responsible solutions to reduce gun violence.
Day 1
March 2, 2013 Send Off
Rabbi Praver, "Newtown will be the bridge to a more peaceful world."
WE ARE OFF! The Newtown and Ridgefield send off rallies were a HUGE success! Thank you to everyone who came out! We are on route to Washington pushing gun control laws the entire way down.
Day 2
Welcome to Frenchtown, NJ
We arrived in Frenchtown, NJ at around mile 57 for an event with Mayor Warren Cooper and Mike Pohle. Mike's son was killed at Virginia Tech. After I spoke, Mike gave me a bear hug and held on in a way that I will never forget. Mike - if you are reading this, we are riding for you. You are Newtown and we are Virginia Tech.
Day 3
From the small towns in Pennsylvania and Maryland to the big city of Baltimore, we were cheered on by people who support reasonable measures to curb gun violence. We saw today what the polls are telling us; that is Americans are looking to end the epidemic of gun violence. We heard from Mayor Rawlings-Blake her commitment to making her streets safer. It's time to get it done.
Day 4
Arrival at the Capitol
Watch for national media coverage with Monte Frank
ABC National News
CBS National News
MSNBC Lawrence O'Donnell, The Last Word
If you have read any of the diaries in this blog-a-thon you are part of the Connecticut Effect. If you've shared and liked on FB, tweeted or commented, you are part of the Connecticut Effect. If you've rallied, talked to people, or called your congress critter, you are part of the Connecticut Effect. If you've bowed your head in silence or prayed for hope and perseverance that frequent reckless and violent use of guns will be a thing of the past, then you are part of the Connecticut Effect. Let's not stop here, let's raise our collective consciousness by continuing to raise awareness and push for reasonable gun measures. As
Meteor Blades explained yesterday, we are at the beginning of a long process but we mustn't give in to frustration or learned hopelessness. One reform at a time may be all that we can expect.
Sandy Hook Ride on Washington ~ March 9 - 12
Click the links below to read previous diaries in this series
Team 26 is a group of 26 elite cyclists who will ride from Newtown, CT to Washington, DC beginning on March 9 and arriving on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol on March 12. Along the way, we will stop in Ridgefield, CT, Frenchtown, NJ and Baltimore, MD. Our goal: to bring Newtown's message to Washington in support of common sense gun legislation.
Please join us as we follow Monte Frank, Peter Olson and the other members of Team 26 as they travel from Newtown, CT to Washington DC. Embedded blogger Becky Frank (Monte’s daughter) will be providing info and photos from the daily events.
Click here to visit Team 26's Facebook page
Facebook account not required
To add this series to your stream
follow the "Team 26" tag
or follow on Tweeter: SHRoW@SHRoW2013
Saturday 3/9
tytalus ~ Morning kick-off 5:30am EST
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Crew"
Glen The Plumber ~ Evening Wrap-up
Sunday 3/10
Dave in Northridge ~ Morning kick-off
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Riders"
DefendOurConstitution ~ Evening Wrap-up
Monday 3/11
this is only a test ~ Ride with "Team 26"
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Riders"
glorificus ~ Evening Wrap-up
Tuesday 3/12
Hey338Too ~ Morning Kick-off
LilithGardener ~ "Meet the Riders"
remembrance ~ Evening