Mayor Ras Baraka, who will lead a 6 p.m. vigil on the steps of City Hall, asks federal lawmakers, "How many more lives must be needlessly lost?" before guns are more tightly controlled.
NEWARK -- Mayor Ras Baraka is urging federal lawmakers to approve federal gun control legislation in the wake of the Orlando shooting massacre.
"How many more lives must be needlessly lost before Congress takes action to impose even the most basic, common sense, and bipartisan reforms on the sale and distribution of guns?" Baraka said in a statement Monday afternoon, a day after 50 people were killed and at least 53 wounded at the nightclub Pulse, the single deadliest shooting in U.S. history.
"This ghastly horror is the result of many things - bigotry, the accessibility of assault rifles to unstable and dangerous people, homophobia, and appalling divisions and splinterings in our country that are making it impossible to reach unity," Baraka continued. "The result is pain and suffering, all of it utterly unnecessary and preventable."
Officials say the gunman, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Queens, NY, native and U.S. citizen who was once married to a former New Jersey woman, pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 call prior to the massacre, in which he was also killed. Mateen is said to have legally acquired the automatic weapon he used in the shooting.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, his ally Gov. Chris Christie and others have called the incident a terrorist attack by radical Islam. President Obama referred to the incident as and example of "homegrown extremism."
Baraka issued his statement in advance of a vigil in memory of the shooting victims, sheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday in front of City Hall. Pulse is a predominantly gay nightclub and gathering place, and the vigil is being held in conjunction with the Newark Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Commission.
"Tonight, with the support of our LGBTQ Commission, the City of Newark and its diverse and united people will respond with love and prayer for the victims in Orlando by holding a vigil on the steps of City Hall," Baaka continued. "I urge all of Newark to join me at this vigil in sending our condolences and support to the victims, and a firm message to the world: Newark stands opposed to gun violence, homophobia, and bigotry."
Newark is just one of many municipalities throughout New Jersey that have planned vigils in light of the mass shooting. Others include:
- Several vigils are planned in and around Hunterdon County beginning Monday night.
- Jersey City is hosting a vigil Tuesday night at 8 p.m.at the Newark Avenue pedestrian plaza, at Grove Street and Newark Avenue.
- Red Bank is hosting a community vigil Wednesday at 8 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring candles for a brief ceremony in the plaza in front of the Red Bank Municipal Building at 90 Monmouth Street.
- South Orange and Maplewood are hosting a joint vigil Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Sloan Street Gazebo in South Orange. In a statement about the event, Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca said it would be an opportunity to support the families of the victims. "It is important that we stand united against all acts of hatred and terror, as an attack against any group on ideological grounds, here the LGBT community, is an attack against our nation and the freedoms on which it was founded and upon which it endures," he said in a statement.
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.