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Erin Fuller

New Castle Stands Against Gun Violence in Rally Also Urging National Changes

June 6, 2022 by Illeana Baquero

Survivor Described the Personal Impact of Gun Violence and County Officials Discussed New York Law Changes and Plead for Additional Changes at Federal Level to Make a Real Difference

Inside Press Photos 

On Friday, dozens of people gathered at the New Castle Recreation Field Gazebo in Chappaqua in protest of continued acts of gun violence across the nation.

“Our country needs to do more to prevent gun violence,” said New Castle Town Supervisor Lisa Katz in her welcoming remarks following an opening prayer by Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe of Temple Beth El.

“When it comes to the safety of our children and fellow citizens, the toxic, hyper-partisan politics of the day must be set aside. We must come together in earnest to immediately effectuate change where there is common ground and at the same time create an environment for bridging the gap where more work needs to be done,” said Katz.

The call to action comes on the heels of the mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, and Tulsa. As Katz, local and county public officials and members of Moms Demand Demand Action spoke, they looked out at concerned citizens attending wearing orange, the color which has become synonymous with the anti-gun violence cause. According to the Wear Orange website, the movement came about following the shooting of Hadiya Pendleton in 2013, after which her friends wore orange – the color hunters wear in the woods to defend themselves from other hunters – to commemorate her life.

“Gun deaths in our country are occurring at a staggering rate,” said Chief of Police Jim Caroll. “About one hundred Americans are killed every day and hundreds more are injured. The massacre in Uvalde was yet another grim reminder that in the U.S., children are much more likely to die by gun violence than any other cause…We have suffered too much at the hands of people who use guns to commit horrific acts of violence.”

Erin Fuller Brian, a Pleasantville resident and survivor of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, went on to share her story: “My life was forever changed,” she said of experiencing the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.

Although she and her husband were fortunate enough to have escaped prior to the shooter opening fire, she described their fear and confusion in the ensuing chaos, and the years of trauma that followed.

Inside Press photo

Fuller Brian gave birth to two children during the pandemic, and became choked up as she described the ways in which the recent shootings have hit home for her and her family.

”To be perfectly honest, the anxiety I feel just about keeping them safe on a daily basis is sometimes too much to bear. I obsess over their safety constantly and have intrusive thoughts about what could potentially happen to them after experiencing just how fragile life is and how it could be taken away in an instant.”

“And then something like Uvalde happens,” she said. “Nineteen children and two of their teachers were slaughtered, and I am broken. We all are. We send our children to school assuming they will come home safe and alive. These parents and families and students are living in a horrific nightmare. I think about what I went through and how hard it was for me to process when I was 29 years old, but most of the survivors of this shooting are children. They are eight, nine, and ten years old. How are they supposed to move on from this?”

While Fuller Brian expressed her grief, she also shared a message of hope, offering ways for the community to get involved in the fight and prevent more lives being lost to gun violence.

Some of these include fighting for common sense gun safety legislation with organizations such as Brady, Moms Demand, or Giffords, donating to those efforts, voting for politicians who support gun reform, talking to friends and family, calling representatives, and joining the March for our Lives protests on June 11th in Washington, D.C., Manhattan, or one of the tens of other locations.

“Have conversations about this, especially with your friends who are responsible gun owners,” Fuller Brian said. “You’d be surprised how much common ground you’re able to find because the NRA wants us to believe that this is a left vs. right, red vs. blue, gun owner vs. non-gun owner issue, but it’s not. It’s a pro-safety vs. pro-violence issue, and I don’t know a single responsible gun owner who is pro-violence.”

“This should not be a partisan issue. This is common sense,” she said.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer expressed a similar sentiment, stating that: “We have a lot of work to do. We will do our share at the local government level in Westchester County, and we hope that we can put enough pressure on the existing decision-makers or vote and get some new decision-makers.”

Latimer referred to a comment made in a radio interview by Robert F. Kennedy in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death: “No one knows who next will suffer some senseless act of bloodshed,” Kennedy had said.

“I ask myself, what are the next places where this is going to happen?” Latimer told the crowd. “It could happen anywhere. It could happen when I sit at a restaurant in an outdoor setting, in a plaza, any place. If someone has access to a weapon of mass destruction, it depends on that day, if that person decides to shoot up every civilian in sight.”

New York State Senator Peter Harckham shared a legislative update on the steps which New York State is taking to increase gun safety, included in a package of ten more gun safety measures passed on Thursday to be signed into law by the governor.

Included in this package is an increase on the age restriction for purchasing semi-automatic weapons to 21, a ban on the purchase of body armor, such as the kevlar vests which rendered the bullets of the security guard in the Buffalo shooting useless on the armored shooter, microstamping technology to allow for the tracing of bullets, an expansion of red flag laws, a ban on long magazines and auto-feeders, and a proposal for tracking and reporting mechanisms for hate speech on social media to hold those platforms accountable, among others.

“While we continue to work hard in New York State to keep you safe and pass the laws that we’ve all been talking about, we need to get national movement because without national background checks and without some national regulations, the flood of guns is going to continue to come to New York.”

Instrumental music was performed by John Burton. On the way out, orange pinwheels were distributed to the audience to place around the gazebo and along the road to commemorate the lives lost in these tragedies and to ensure that the community’s effort for change is visible to all.

Filed Under: Cover Stories, New Castle News Tagged With: Erin Fuller, George Latimer, gun violence, Gun Violence Awareness, Lisa Katz, Moms Demand Action, New Castle, Peter Harckham, Stand Against Gun Violence

Citizens Rally for Greater Gun Control & Against ‘American Carnage’

February 18, 2018 by Grace Bennett

A Key Message from those Gathered Today: “Vote Them Out”

Erin Fuller, survivor of the Las Vegas Massacre, addressing the crowd.

White Plains, February 18–“I am still trying to process the fact that we escaped the largest shooting massacre in U.S. history.” These were the first words I heard as I leaned in to listen, joining a crowd filled with several hundred activists, public officials and concerned citizens, many holding pointed signs and breaking out in chants such as “Vote Them Out” or “Shame on Them” condemning the NRA or politicians who have been bought by them or who have otherwise failed to act. 

The rally–organized in response to the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that left 17 students, a coach and teacher dead–called for a battle against stagnation and corruption in the fight for greater gun control on a regional, state and national level, too.

The words were from Erin Fuller, a 30-year-old survivor of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas massacre, which killed 58 people, and injured nearly 500 more. Invited by the rally organizers, Fuller, in her first public address since the Vegas shooting, described a wave of nausea which caused her to leave the concert premises with her fiancé in search of a bathroom. Later leaving a hotel lobby, the two stepped outside again to listen to the music when they heard the pops…

Fuller continues to cope with a ‘flood of emotions.’ “Every night I close my eyes and hear the gun shots and think of the lost lives of those beautiful people.”

“We can no longer sit by and wait for politicians to create change,” she later added.  “18 shootings this school year… This is American Carnage and it is unacceptable.”

Her comments and those of other speakers in front of the steps of the white shingled Westchester Republican Committee Headquarters on Mamaroneck Avenue encouraged voting out those who have consistently voted against gun control and reform measures. The failure to ban the AR-15 assault rifle used in so many shootings including Las Vegas and Parkland was a focal point today too.

Cars honked and passerbys hollered in support of the group, a rally that had been quickly organized by Indivisible Westchester, Up2Us and the Million Mom March, Northern Westchester Chapter in response to the Parkland shooting.

Shelly Mayer, a Democrat running for a seat in the State Senate, described gun control bills and bills for research into gun violence that are being blocked from reaching the floor of the state Senate. Recently elected County Executive George Latimer’s success in banning the Gun Show at the Westchester County Center, she said, shows that “we can get out and organize and elect people who reflect our values. Saving lives should not be a partisan issue.”

State Assemblyman David Buchwald recalled, “This is not the first time we have gathered on this issue.” Buchwald had won against a Republican incumbent five years earlier, following Sandy Hook, running on a platform strongly against gun violence. Buchwald co-sponsored and passed the New York Safe Act, “which has helped put New York on the path to a safer state. Connecticut followed, but far too few places have taken the lead since,” he said.

From Yonkers Majority Leader Michael Sabatino: “In the last election, only 18% of voters showed up to vote….That’s not acceptable… people died for the right to vote.”

A spokesman on behalf of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand implored everyone to make sure they come out to vote to help protect Americans.

Fuller had added that stricter laws were also needed to protect citizens “from persons clearly needing treatment and exhibiting wild and predictive behaviors,” and described herself as infuriated by the ease at which the perpetrator was able to pick up weapons.

“I am sick and tired of this country being reactive rather than pro-active,” she said. “Every citizen needs to step up to the plate… See something, say something before it’s too late.”

Regarding the AR-15 assault weapons employed by shooters, in a separate interview with the Inside Press, Fuller stated: “I don’t understand why any person would need access to a military style weapon. I can’t wrap my head around that.  It blows my mind. In Florida, you can’t rent a car till you’re 25 but you can buy an AR-15!”

She spoke of her admiration for “the kids standing arm in arm in front of the school” in Parkland.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” she said. “This issue transcends gender or age; it’s life or death with children being shot and killed just for going to school.”

Following the rally, Jessica Meller, co-president Million Mom March Northern Westchester Chapter, noted that the outrage of the crowd was palpable. “Of the many protests and marches I have attended, I’ve never seen this level of anger and determination.”

She said the youths from Parkland “who are demanding legislative action and organizing school walk-outs are inspiring adults and giving them more courage to be vocal and reason to be optimistic…

“Actually, it’s very simple: Kids do not want to be shot to death in school, or anywhere for that matter.  They are going to be a force in the upcoming elections, literally voting for their lives.”

Molly Greece of Indivisible Westchester reminded that it comes down to money for the NRA and money for gun manufacturers. “We need solid laws in place so we can sue them,” she said.

“We felt we had to do something this week,” said Iris Weintraub Lachaud of Up2Us. “This was our answer to ‘your thoughts and prayers.'”

Barry Graubart, a regional director for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, noted the upcoming March for Our Lives event on March 24; a student and teen led march in Washington D.C.  “We’ll be helping with regional events in conjunction with the kids from Parkland.  “It will be an amazing opportunity for teens and students to have their voices heard on this.”  Visit marchforourlives.com

Meanwhile, asked how she keeps going, Fuller answered that despite “the grief that still bubbles up, I have no choice but to be optimistic.  If I fall into pessimism…I’m not going to heal. The only path to healing is to believe that things can change.”

Filed Under: New Castle News Tagged With: American Carnage, Erin Fuller, gun control, Gun control advocates, Guns, Indivisible Westchester, Las Vegas massacre, Million Moms March, NRA, Parkland shooting, Up2US, Vote them out

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