AURORA | A memorial ceremony at Cherry Creek State Park for the July 20, 2012, theater massacre victims quickly became a charged debate on gun control legislation Friday afternoon.
Supporters of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national gun control group headed by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, held the event from noon Friday to just after midnight Saturday to read the names of victims killed by guns over the last year. Those names included people slain in the Aurora theater, at Columbine High School in 1999 and most recently in Newtown, Conn., where 20 people, including children were killed. Nearby, pro-gun supporters held a counter rally, which they said was a reaction to the politicized event nearby.
Stephen Barton, who was wounded in the Century Aurora 16 theater shooting a year ago and who lived minutes from the Newtown massacre, addressed the dozens of supporters who gathered around the Mayors Against Illegal Guns tour bus traveling around the country lobbying for more gun control legislation.
“I think like most Americans, I never believed … I’d be a victim of gun violence,” Barton said. “As a survivor, I’m extremely thankful for the people here today who stand in support with Aurora and with all survivors of gun violence.”
Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex Sullivan was killed in the theater shooting a year ago, told the crowd that he supported legislation in Colorado over the past year to limit high-capacity magazines.
“How long will we as Americans stand by as events like this one go on until we stand up and say ‘enough is enough’ and do something about this,” Sullivan said.
Nearby, pro-gun supporters said recall elections, like the ones being held for state Sens. Angela Giron and John Morse, were serving notice that gun control legislation wouldn’t be tolerated in Colorado.
“To the families and victims, we offer our condolences and prayers,” said Dudley Brown, president of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. “But to Mayor Bloomberg, who has politicized this event, we offer our opposition. We felt like we needed to be here to counter their politicization of this issue. Those victims are being used. Mayor Bloomberg is dancing on the graves of those victims. He’s using dead people.
“We only came here because they started it,” Brown said.