"The first step we need to take is love," the Rev. Carmen Morales told her audience Sunday evening.
Morales was speaking at a candlelight vigil in Binns Park in Lancaster, held to honor victims of gun violence and to call on the community to take action to stop the killing. It was spearheaded by Lindsey Martin, whose fiancé, Kendell Cook, was shot and killed in Carlisle in 2021.
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The vigil follows a string of shootings in the city and county. Since Nov. 28, nine people have been shot in Lancaster city and two in Columbia. Six of the victims died, including one suicide.
Former Mayor Rick Gray serves on the board of Cease Fire PA, which pushes for tighter gun regulation. He told those gathered in Binns Park that he felt guilty every time a murder occurred during his 12 years in office.
The sentiment "Oh no, not again" must become not a lament uttered after each senseless death, he said, but a rallying cry, "a command going forward to do something."
Brandon Flood is Cease Fire PA's deputy director of government affairs. With Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro taking office in January and the prospect of a Democratic majority in the state House, his organization is hoping there might be political support for some of the changes it advocates.
Dr. Ajay Marwaha said America's world-leading rate of gun violence is driven by greed of gun manufacturers and their influence over politicians, by the endemic poverty that breeds crime and by the interplay of fear, racism and power.
"Let's start living in love and kindness rather than fear," he said.
Morales said she used to sell drugs and did time in prison. She said it was the lack of love that led her to despair and a life on the streets, and it was the love and support of a White woman mentor who put her on the right track.
"When love shows up, life changes," she said. Get involved, she said, reach out to broken families, be present. That way, "we can really make a change."
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