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"I stand here with you tonight to say: Enough," Dana Horowitz said to about 60 people gathered in front of the Ferguson Library in Stamford for a vigil. "We stand together to remember all those lost to gun violence. To remember those that touched our hearts. To remember and show support to those who are survivors. To honor the victims and to let the world know they will never be forgotten."
Her father, Bruce Horowitz, an insurance adjuster, was shot and killed by a client in May 1992 in Hamden.
Dana Horowitz and others gathered for the Vigil of Hope just two days before the two-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook School shooting, where 20 children and six staff members were killed by a lone gunman.
Shira Tarantino, an organizer for the vigil, is a member of The Enough Campaign, a local group pushing for gun safety. She said the vigil was held to remember the Sandy Hook victims as well as the 60,000 Americans who have died in the country in the last two years due to guns.
Although Connecticut has been a leader in enacting stricter gun control legislation, Tarantino said that gun control advocates realize it will take longer to persuade the rest of the country to follow suit.
"We understand that this is going to probably take a generation to turn things around, but we are really concerned because gun violence is an epidemic," she said. "It truly is a public health issue that needs to be addressed."
Stamford Mayor David Martin said too many people lose their lives to guns.
"It's time to end gun violence, and the simple message is: 'Enough is enough,'" he said.
Jack Bryant, from the Stamford chapter of the NAACP, said too many African-Americans, especially teens and young adults, are shot to death or wounded by gunfire.
Also attending the vigil in downtown Stamford were state Reps. William Tong, D-147th District; Gerald M. Fox III, D-146th District; and Caroline Simmons, a Democrat who was just elected in the city's 144th District.
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