The Indian American community of Inland Empire in Riverside, roughly 50 miles south of Los Angeles, held a march on June 4 to memorialise the victims of the recent spate of shootings in the United States.
Members of the Inland Empire chapter of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin marched down downtown Riverside’s Peach Trek of Statues, holding signs and beginning their walk at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue.
According to The Press-Enterprise, the attendees condemned gun violence and called for modification of existing gun regulations in the United States.
The organisation intends to host future anti-shooting protests and vigils, and rallies for other global and national concerns. Members of the Indian American community from throughout the United States are coming together to speak out against gun violence.
On May 25, Shikha Hamilton, vice president of Organising at Brady: United To End Gun Violence, and Foster City Mayor Richa Awasthi organised a vigil in Foster City, barely a day after Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old shooter, massacred 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Indian American parents have voiced their desire for a change in US gun regulations in various ways, including vigils and protests. The Quint spoke with other moms of school-aged children about their concerns and fears for their children’s safety.
This follows a string of shootings in the United States in recent weeks, including those in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where four people were killed at a hospital, and Taft, Oklahoma, where one person died. Several others were injured during a Memorial Day weekend celebration and a shooting in Wisconsin, where several people were injured while attending a cemetery funeral.
Marches and vigils aren’t the only ways to improve gun legislation in the United States right now. The age restriction for purchasing and possessing a semi-automatic rifle in New York has been raised from 18 to 21 years old.
