In Wake of Newtown Anniversary, Hoosiers Call for Change

Amelia Hagedorn feels the impact of gun violence every day.

In October, her niece, Elizabeth, was shot and killed at a west side motel.

Now, Hagedorn is calling for the city to come together to prevent similar situations from happening.

"I was the one who went to the coroner's office at 4:45 a.m. with her parents.  It was horrific," she said.  "Whether it's God, whatever you believe in, we are Christians, Elizabeth was a Christian, there has got to be something to stop the violence."

Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Holding signs that read “We Are Newtown,” Hagedorn joined a group of about two dozen who rallied in downtown Indianapolis, Friday, to call for a stop to gun violence in the Circle City.

"I don't know what message there is to give because everybody is out there doing the best they can," said Hagedorn.  "But, the ones that aren't need to step up to it."

Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence President Stephen Dunlop says even though Indianapolis has not experienced a mass shooting like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary, the city needs to be proactive.

"We feel that this is a problem that can be approached without necessarily repairing our schools or repairing any other tear in our social fabric," he said.  "It can be approached by dealing with the issue of the availability to people who should not have guns and their carrying of them on the street."

Both Hagedorn and Dunlop say they want to see both policy and culture changes as a result of the rally. "I think the culture here is that nobody likes to see gun violence and want it stopped," said Dunlop. 

"Though, I don't know that when we talk about it, we talk enough about it as a problem with marketing and distribution of guns and availability of guns as much as we sometimes talk about it as a problem with the people that are doing the shooting."

"Young people who are disaffected and alienated and out of school and all of which is true, but they wouldn't be shooting people if they didn't have guns."

Saturday, Moms Demand Action is hosting a rally at the Circle Monument in honor of the victims and families of Newtown. It begins at 9:30 a.m.