Cyclists pedal to Newtown to advocate for gun controls
TOPSFIELD — Just after 7 a.m. on Friday, after a few short speeches and some last-minute fussing with their gear, 10 cyclists headed off from the Congregational Church of Topsfield on the first Tri-Town to Newtown: A Ride to Remember. They rode to remember the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, nearly six years ago. The massacre, in which 20 children and six adults were gunned down, should have been a turning point, they say, in the nation’s attitude toward gun controls. But it wasn’t enough to change national policy. So the local cyclists made a three-day ride, hoping to raise awareness for gun violence prevention. The riders wore orange shirts with the names and ages of Sandy Hook victims printed on the back. The 207-mile ride was set to end Sunday in Newtown, where the cyclists met up with local advocates who have also been seeking to end gun violence in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings. Topsfield resident Angus McQuilken, co-founder of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, was among the riders. The 65-member coalition advocates for stronger gun laws in Massachusetts and nationwide. “I think it’s important to remember — not just to remember the very young lives that were lost that day, but I think this one is important to remember because this should have been the tipping point, this should have been the moment when our national dialogue about regulation of firearms changed,” McQuilken said. “But it didn’t. It didn’t […]
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