RSS FEED
Twenty-six bicyclists left Connecticut this weekend, including the father of a slain Sandy Hook Elementary School girl, hoping to keep the memory of the 26 victims of the Newton shooting front and center in the Capitol Hill gun control debate.
According to the Hartford Courant, the Sandy Hook Ride on Washington includes professional and amateur bicyclists, parents, teachers and a Newtown police officer. The bicyclists will ride roughly 400 miles over four days, including stops at five of the Newtown district’s schools, as well as the firehouse across from Sandy Hook Elementary School. They are wearing the school's green and white colors the ride.
On the group's Facebook page, the ride is described as a grassroots effort started by a Sandy Hook cyclist. The group advocates for "sensible gun control laws," including a ban of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, tougher penalties for gun traffickers and straw buyers, and stronger gun ownership restrictions for people with severe mental illness.
The cyclists have met with the mayors of Parisippany, NJ, and Frenchtown, NJ, on their way to Washington and are scheduled to meet with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at City Hall this afternoon.
The Newtown riders are expected to leave Baltimore for D.C. Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. from the Inner Harbor.
