CARMEL – More than 200 gun control advocates rallied in downtown Carmel on Monday evening demanding changes in legislation following the deaths of 17 people shot and killed at a high school in Florida.
The vigil outside the historic Putnam Courthouse was organized by the Vision with Action Can Change the World organization.
Signs and candles in Carmel
Speaker after speaker called out politicians for their lack of action.
“Shame on You!” the crowd chanted over and over again to President Trump and the National Rifle Association.
Mixed among the demonstrators were Second Amendment proponents who verbally sparred with several in the crowd. Sheriff’s deputies moved in to make sure that fisticuffs was averted.
On both sides of the aisle, people were passionate about their beliefs.
Ron Stout of Putnam Valley, a Vietnam veteran, charged that over the “past 30 years something has happened to the interpretation of the Second Amendment which has allowed people to go crazy and purchase weapons that were never intended to be in the hands of civilians. An AR-15 is an assault rifle that has no use in the civilian population. More testing is needed to obtain a driver’s license than to purchase a weapon. It is insane!”
Stout noted that “Second Amendment rights have been in place since the late 1700’s. They were drafted when people had muzzle loaders. They did not have full automatic weapons that kill people.”
Tony Provenzano, who said he resided in Putnam County, felt differently. “Groups like this never try to stop what happened. They are using the opportunity to take rights away from law abiding citizens. The guy who killed the people in Florida should have been picked up before he walked into that school but they don’t want to talk about that. All they want to do is deal with issues that promote their agenda by taking the Second Amendment away from those who want to protect themselves and their families.”
Putnam Sheriff Robert Langley told the emotionally charged audience that “Putnam County is a safe county because we all remain vigilant. When we see something or hear something, we must say something no matter how insignificant it may seem. Listen to your children and don’t dismiss their concerns.”
Teacher Marcia Stone wept while describing school as a “place of learning, not of death.”
Northern Westchester Assemblyman David Buchwald called for a nationwide ban on assault weapons. “Words are not enough. Guns must be kept out of the hands of those adjudicated to be at a risk of harming themselves or others. We need safe storage laws for guns that are not in use similar to legislation currently on the books in Westchester while taking guns out of the hands of convicted domestic violence offenders.”
