On Wednesday, March 14, in collaboration with interfaith partners and grassroots organizers in the Pioneer Valley, Episcopal Church youth and bishops protested peacefully outside the gates of Smith & Wesson in Springfield.
Smith & Wesson is the point of production for the gun used to kill 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14 and in two other mass shootings--in Aurora, Colo., and San Bernadino, Calif. Inspired by the direct and compelling action of the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the March 14 action at Smith & Wesson was led by youth and supported by adults in the community of faith.
The convergence of interfaith and local partners is to organizers both a sign of hope and an indication of movement toward the goal of removing weapons of war from streets and schools. Included among the sponsoring groups of the action in Springfield were the Episcopal dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts, the B-PEACE for Jorge Campaign and Episcopal City Mission.