Why I Ride for Team 26:
Last year I joined team 26 for one leg of their journey (I'm in blue and pink), and this year I plan to ride in green, completing the entire ride from Newtown, Ct to Washington D.C.
In 2013 I created an art installation that chronicled the gun deaths in the US in the few short months following the Sandy Hook tragedy. See that project here: http://www.taraparsons.com/lepetitemorte.html and read more about it here: http://www.taraparsons.com/text-lepetitemorte.html
Gun violence is a public health crisis in the US. However, unlike other public health crises, our government has abandoned its role to protect its citizens. The Second Amendment, however valuable its place as part of the Constitution, does not abdicate responsibility to protect people from being killed, whether in a school, in a movie theater, at a concert, or in a church. Gun control is something that must happen here. We cannot continue to abide the deaths of innocent children, grandmothers, teachers, ordinary citizens going about their daily life. More guns are not the answer to this pandemic of violence. Being armed to the teeth does not make a society safer, just more afraid. I urge all my friends and family to support the mission of Team 26 as we ride for a better country.
Sandy Hook Ride on Washington
Sandy Hook Ride on Washington
For the 6th time, 26 cyclists will ride to honor the 26 killed at the Sandy Hook School and all victims of gun violence, to raise awareness of the public health crisis of gun violence, and to support common sense measures to reduce it. We will ride Newtown, Connecticut to Washington, D.C. from May 5 to May 8, 2018 Our ride will take us towards and through states that are working to reduce gun violence. Until members of the Congress do their jobs and pass laws to make Americans safer instead of offering thoughts and prayers for victims, we will continue to ride.
Sandy Hook Ride on Washington