Clergy members, community leaders march across Brooklyn Bridge calling for end to gun violence
NEW YORK -- Dozens of clergy members marched Thursday to raise awareness about gun violence.
The group started in Cadman Plaza and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas was outside City Hall, where the group was joined by Mayor Eric Adams and other city and community leaders for a rally.
Organizers made it very clear this was not a protest. They called it a Jericho march, a Biblical reference that highlights breaking down walls.
"We're fed up. We've buried too many parishioners, too many innocent people from gun violence," said Bishop Gerald Seabrooks of the United Clergy Coalition.
But all too often, they're on the front lines of the gun violence crisis.
"We've watched the pain of mothers and siblings and relatives just crying just because of random shootings," Seabrooks said.
It was the second year in a row that dozens of clergy and community members gathered at Cadman Plaza and marched over the Brooklyn Bridge. They called for an end to gun violence all across the country, but specifically in New York City's underserved communities.
Flanked by the NYPD, dozens marched over the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall for a rally to end gun violence all across the county, but, specifically, right here at home.
According to the latest NYPD statistics, as of Sunday 210 people have been killed so far this year. That's down from 233 during the same time last year.
However, the focus at Thursday's rally was on love, not anger, in the hope that prayer can help bolster policy.
"We are too often united about what divides us. We are too often united over what's broken, and we need to be united over what's good," Pastor Zac Martin, with Recovery House of Worship, said. "What's good in our communities is our faith communities who believe in peace."
A beacon of light during a dark time.
"Every year, we will be right here with you, in front of you, behind you, next to you, shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, hand in hand," NYPD Brooklyn North Commander Chief Judith Harrison said.
While elected leaders use policies to address gun violence, clergy are coming together in prayer, hoping others will join them.
They also wanted to show their support for Adams and his initiatives, while calling for more funding for faith-based initiatives that focus on youth.
