Hundreds march in NY for stricter gun laws

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Hundreds of people carrying photos of loved ones killed by gun violence marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday to rally for stricter gun laws and chanted demands for action.

The fourth annual march, on the eve of Mother’s Day, was organized by the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

“We are going to stand up and fight until our last breath because if we lose our children, we have nothing left to lose,” said the group’s founder, Shannon Watts.

Natasha Christopher knows that pain all too well. Her son, Akeal Christopher, was shot in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood in June 2012 and died days later, on his 15th birthday.

“Gun violence destroyed my family,” Christopher said. “Nothing will ever be the same. But I’m here today to say that I have turned my pain and anger into action.”

The marchers, who went from Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn to city hall in lower Manhattan, said they wanted stricter background checks for gun purchases and a ban on assault rifles.