John Ford & Megan Cea
This will be our sixth trip to Washington D.C. with Team 26. We ride, and will continue to ride, because we believe that Americans deserve better. The scourage of gun violence in this country is not, and should not be accepted as, unavoidable. We all know the facts - over 35,000 Americans are killed by guns each year, more than 81,000 are injured, every day in the United States 7 children under the age of 18 are shot to death, guns are the third leading cause of death for children in the US - a rate 8 times higher than the rest of the developed world. (https://everytownresearch.org/gun-violence-by-the-numbers/)
And we know the solutions are simple - keeping guns, including high powered semi-automatic weapons of war and high capacity magazines, out of the hands of people who should not have them, works. We can look to the models of other countries, such as those in Europe and Canada, and see the evidence of what common sense, preventative legislation can achieve. More guns do not make us safer. Why do we allow the epidemic of gun violence to continue in this country? Why do we allow our elected representatives to ignore the will of the people?
All Americans should have the opportunity to grow up and live without the fear of being gunned down in our schools, in our churches, in our shopping malls, in our movie theaters, on the streets of our cities. This is not a partisan issue. The safety of our communities and the well-being of our neighbors is not a partisan issue.
I am heartened by the small, incremental changes that are occurring at the local and state levels, as well as the public support for change. But we need to do more. Until we, as a nation, can prove to the next generation that we love our children more than we love our guns, we will continue to ride.
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.
Team 26
Sandy Hook Ride on Washington