Mount Vernon Unitarian Church members met with Sen. Scott Surovell Monday January 16 to lobby for stronger state gun laws. Photo contributed
More than 20 members and friends of the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church travelled to Richmond on Monday, Jan. 16, to join hundreds of others lobbying for stronger state gun laws. The group attended a vigil for victims of gun violence on the Capitol lawn, which included remarks from Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring, and U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin.
Church members met with local Delegates Paul Krizek and Mark Levine and Senators Adam Ebbin and Scott Surovell as well as House and Senate members of committees dealing with public safety issues. The group shared Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church’s “statement of conscience on gun violence” passed by the congregation in 2013. The church advocates for measures that prevent the indiscriminate purchase of firearms for the use of violence against people who live in the United States; provide safe havens for people to report threatening behavior; provide federal funding to study the causes of gun violence; and support universal background checks for purchase of firearms.