By PENELOPE DE LA CRUZ
The Daily Athenaeum
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Morgantown residents united in prayer for those impacted by Las Vegas shooting.
Organized by the Greater Morgantown Interfaith Association and members of Mountaineers for Progress, people gathered on Tuesday for a moment of silence.
Eve Faulkes, member of the Greater Morgantown Interfaith Association and WVU graphic design professor, spoke of the values that unite those in attendance of Tuesday night’s vigil.
Faulkes found the purpose of the vigil was to unite and bring hope to the citizens of Morgantown, regardless of religious affiliation.
“We can have big differences, and small differences, but we all want safe communities,” said Faulkes.
Faulkes said she hopes public officials see mass shootings and acts of violence as non-political issues.
“Life is more important than the second amendment,” Faulkes said.
Danielle Walker, a member of Mountaineers for Progress and the NAACP, said events like this are crucial in making the citizens closer to one another.
“To have so many people of different faiths come together, and be united, it speaks volumes to how big of an issue these tragedies are,” Walker said.
Walker said more needs to be done to address future mass shootings than just vigils.
“Our hope is that lawmakers come together, and feel these stories, and acknowledge that these are people, these are lives and acknowledge that something needs to be done,” Walker said.
Many in attendance said they hope for legislators to directly approach gun control issues in result of different mass shootings, but that isn’t they’re only motivation.
Julia Hamilton, treasurer for Mountaineers for Progress, says a big part of vigils is just to make citizens aware.
“We can’t normalize this kind of behavior, we can’t become desensitized to this kind of behavior,” Hamilton said. “We hope to show our officials and those around the community there are people who care, and are taking an active step forward to push back against these things that are so revolting and horrifying.”
Both Mountaineers for Progress and the Greater Morgantown Interfaith Association pledge to continue to spread their message of unity as more tragic events occur throughout the United States.
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