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It was a strange, eerie sight on the U.S. Capitol lawn today.
Activists placed 7,000 pairs of empty shoes on the lawn as part of a memorial movement called Monument for Our Kids.
Each pair of shoes represents a child that has been killed by gun violence in the United States since the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting.
That shooting occurred on Dec. 14, 2012, just over five years ago.
The movement is calling for congress to make a change before more children’s lives are cut short by gun violence.
It has adopted the hashtag, #NotOneMore, which was reflected on a large banner at the scene as well.
Although the number of shoes represents the amount of kids killed since 2012, the father of a boy killed in the 1999 Columbine shooting was on hand as well.
Tom Mauser brought a pair of his son Daniel’s shoes to help with the installation.
7000 shoes outside the U.S. Capitol rn to represent the children who lost their lives due to guns since Sandy Hook. Tom Mauser brought a pair of his son Daniel’s shoes to help w/ this installation. Daniel was 15 when he was shot and killed at Columbine. #NotOneMore @Avaaz @MoveOn pic.twitter.com/ibUXjzyQU2
— Sara Kenigsberg (@skenigsberg) March 13, 2018
Daniel was 15 when he was killed during the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999.
A 2017 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that an average of 1,300 kids die annually in the U.S. from gun-related injuries.
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