Why rally in NJ will call for tighter gun control in Pennsylvania

Team 26 is heading to the Garden State this coming weekend.

The 26-rider bicycle team from Newtown, Connecticut, will arrive in Trenton at noon on Sunday to honor the memory of the 26 people killed six years ago at the Sandy Hook Elementary School as well as others who have perished in gun violence incidents around the world.

“What they do is they ride 400 miles from Newtown to Washington, D.C., to bring a message of gun violence prevention to our elected officials, and they’re stopping at Trenton City Hall,” said Reba Holley, leader of the Mercer County Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

She said while we have very strong gun laws in New Jersey, “somebody who is intent upon shooting up a school and won’t care so much about the laws might go to Pennsylvania and get a gun.”

“The gun laws are not the same in the neighboring states, so the fight isn’t over; there’s more to be done.”

One of the speakers at the rally will be Regina Thompson-Jenkins, whose 19-year-old son Tre was shot and killed when he shielded two young women during a random shooting in Trenton.

“It was a senseless act of gun violence. It has truly destroyed my life literally,” she said.

“Unless you’ve walked in my shoes you will never know my journey. Our family has been torn apart.”

She agreed that while New Jersey may have strict gun laws, other states do not.

“There is too much gun violence in all areas, especially our urban communities,” she said.

“We mobilize when there’s a mass shooting, but this happens every day in our urban communities. We need common sense gun laws so everybody can be protected.”

Other speakers at the rally include U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J. 12th District, Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson and Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, D-Passaic.

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You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com