ST. LOUIS, Missouri — Hundreds of people packed the pews of a historic St. Louis church on Sunday night to remember the victims of gun violence and to urge Missouri leaders to commit to holding a vote on tougher gun laws.
"We are angry," St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski said. "Angry at the seeming powerlessness of our leaders and communities to prevent violence.
"We are tired: tired of inaction, easy answers, and superficial acts of compassion," he said. "We are sad, sad for those who suffer in needless pain, the loss of all they cherish. However, we are hopeful, hopeful that by our prayers, our presence and our persistence that change will one day come."
The annual event at the Trinity Episcopal Church was originally inspired by the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Some of the clergy who sat in the pews had ministered to local victims of gun violence.
Pastor Rodrick Burton of the New Northside Missionary Baptist Church told 5 On Your Side he was called to console the family of 15-year-old Alexzandria Bell, the teen who was killed at Central Visual and Performing Arts in the 2022 St. Louis school shooting.
"In my 10 years of being a pastor, I've had six members murdered," he said.
Jeff Wunrow, a member of the church, helped organize a letter drive to the Republican leaders of the Missouri House and Senate.
"Missouri has the eighth highest firearm death rate in the nation, a statistic of which we cannot be proud," the letter said.
It called on legislative leaders to hold hearings and allow a vote on age requirements to buy and carry a firearm, permits to carry weapons, 'Red Flag' laws, safe firearm storage requirements, and universal background checks for gun purchases.
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