'This Is An Evil Issue': Gun Debate Front And Center During Vigil For Las Vegas Victims
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The issue of gun control was front and center in Philadelphia Tuesday night during a vigil for the victims killed in Las Vegas.
"If you have someone that you need to say you are sorry to, or that you love, say it now, don't let it wait," said Mayor Jim Kenney.
"You gotta stop the madness," City Council President Darrell Clarke said.
After the Pulse nightclub mass shooting last year, Philadelphians held a vigil. CeaseFire PA, the organizer for tonight's event says sadly they find themselves in the same place physically and emotionally mourning the loss of life in Las Vegas.
"We need people calling on their legislators at the state and federal level to talk about safety, to talk about reasonable regulation, to talk about when 93 deaths a day is going to become unacceptable," said CeaseFire PA
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf also attended the event.
"Congress should get its act together before another innocent American goes to the corner store school or a concert and never comes her to her family," said Wolf.
"I think we make the mistake of making something that is not a firearms issue a firearms issue. This is an evil issue," said Maj Toure, founder of Black Guns Matter.
The Philadelphia organization turned national program, educates citizens on their rights through safe and legal gun ownership
"Good citizenship and the 2nd Amendment go hand in hand. To create a space where we are saying, 'Oh you have to affect people negatively and their rights because someone did the wrong thing' is a very limited scope," Toure said.
"We have to stop the stuff that's going on around us first before we can try to legislate anything," said Pulse nightclub survivor Tiara Parker.
Parker offered a unique perspective on the shooting in Las Vegas.
"These were people out having fun, the same thing I did in 2016 at the Pulse nightclub," she said.
Parker was injured and her best friend killed when a shooter opened fire inside of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. She says her focus now is combating illegal guns and assisting fellow survivors of violence.
"From one survivor to another no matter what your situation is, it is going to be ok, you are blessed, you are here for a reason," said Parker.
