In wake of the recent Parkland tragedy, local officials and community leaders joined with South Miami residents at Palmer Park to express the need for viable anti-gun laws. The rally was spearheaded by Vice Mayor Walter Harris and the City of South Miami.
It was a somber and moving event as teachers, parents, and children were seen seated on the grass in front of the stage holding anti-gun posters with silhouettes of assault rifles crossed out, and signs stating, “Arm teachers with books.”
The rally kicked off with a joint speech by local Cantor Jodi Rozental, Reverend Miller Campbell, and IMAM Sultan Mohammed promoting the need for love and unity in a time of loss and crisis.
Representing neighboring municipalities were several mayors and commissioners, as well as still-grieving members of a family whose son was killed in the mass murder at Pulse nightclub in Orlando nearly two years ago.
In sharing their experiences with gun violence and how it has affected their lives, numerous guest speakers stepped up to express a need for a communal understanding that gun violence will not be tolerated. Those notable speakers included Miami-Dade County Commissioners Daniella Levine Cava and Xavier Suarez; Cutler Bay Mayor Peggy Bell; South Miami Mayor Phil Stoddard; former Mayor of South Miami Horace Feliu; Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flynn.
