Concert Movement to End Gun Violence Comes To The Asbury
Organizers Say the 7 pm Weds event will bring awareness to gun safety
The advocacy for gun control and rally against gun violence lands at The Asbury Wednesday in the form of a Concert Movement to End Gun Violence.
The concert event is a fundraiser in support of advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, held in partnership with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which has Monmouth and Ocean county branches.
“This event will bring awareness to gun safety and the steps that must be taken to do just that,” organizers said in a written statement. Those who can not make the 7 to 9 p.m. event can donate by purchasing a $10 ticket via everytownconcert.brownpapertickets.com and writing donation on the form.
The night’s lineup features Geena B of Geena & Dragster, Mykel Dicus, Spiral Effect, Virago, Jason B. Schmidt & Bob Egan, Poet Charlie Bondhus, and Ballet Forte.
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- Geena B
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- Charlie Bondhus
Scheduled to appear are Sen Vin Gopal, Assembly members Joann Downey and Eric Houghtaling, and Garden State Equality’s Executive Director Christian Fuscarino.
The event is being held to pay homage to the one month anniversary of the mass shooting that occured Feb 14 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Reported as the second deadliest shooting at a public school in the nation, behind the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz admitted to killing 17 students and faculty members and wounding as many with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle.
According to the Everytown USA, there have been 29 incidents of gunfire in schools across the nation this year alone.
Pallone at Asbury Park High School For Conversation on Gun Violence
Parkland students went on to push the national discourse surrounding gun violence and laws. Locally, US Congressman Frank Pallone Jr has held town hall meeting with students in Asbury Park, Long Branch and Woodbridge, saying he wanted to hear directly from the students in his jurisdiction.
“The common theme here is guns,” Pallone said in a written statement. “America’s gun violence crisis is not normal – and it’s not inevitable. Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed by a gun than people in other developed nations. In fact, no other country like ours comes close. I am concerned that President Trump, Secretary DeVos and Republicans in Congress are failing to listen to students throughout this country who are courageously speaking out on gun violence. We cannot bring about serious change without actually addressing the availability and capabilities of the weapons that have been used in numerous [school] mass shootings and on our streets.”
Asbury Park Acting Superintendent Sanch Gray has said for safety reasons, the district will not be participating in the national student walk out planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday. Instead the students will screen the tapped town hall discussion with Congressman Frank Pallone and discuss the issues and legislations in order to further their awareness and education.
The Asbury is located at 210 Fifth Avenue. The Concert Movement to End Gun Violence will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information and tickets, click here.
[Artist photos courtesy of social media, Pallone photo courtesy of Chanta Jackson of the Asbury Park School District]
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