'There Will Be More': Dire Warning Issued At Gun Violence Vigil

Caption

Dozens of people gathered for prayer at a vigil for gun violence in downtown Atlanta. / GPB News

More than 1,600 names of victims who died in Georgia last year due to gun violence were read one by one Wednesday at a vigil. Dozens of people gathered at Liberty Plaza in downtown Atlanta to say a prayer and call for change.

Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, whose son was shot and killed in 2012, said it's their ethical duty to remember those who have passed.  

"We must honor those that we have lost,” McBath said.  “And, yes, we'll continue to honor those that we will lose because there will be more. But we're going to tell their stories because the stories matter."

Rev. Ed Bacon is the interim Rector at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, which organized the gathering. He likened guns to the use of swords in the Bible. 

"Those who live by the sword will die by the sword," Bacon said referencing scripture. "What is comparable in 2019 is those who live by the gun will die by the gun. You and I are dying by the gun because none of the names we read today are separate from us."

Alexander Pierre, who lives in Roswell, also showed up in the hot afternoon weather to call for more gun control.   

“Our addiction (is) to guns and the unnecessary need for them and the volume at which we have them. I think it’s something that we definitely need to bring attention to in having stricter gun laws that keep us all safer,” Pierre said.

He said he isn’t shocked at the frequency that these events happen but hopes to see a change soon.

McBath is one of many lawmakers calling for more restrictions on guns including stricter background checks following recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, where a total of 32 people were killed.