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Chicago Sun Times: Pfleger’s caravan of faith rolls to Washington to push for gun control
By John W. Fountain Sep 27, 2019, 4:35pm CDT
Father Michael Pfleger led demonstrators by bus from St. Sabina in hopes of adopting gun legislation that can be felt even in Chicago’s blood and shell case laden streets.
This is the first in a series titled, “Caravan of Faith”
In the dead of a cool autumn night, the wheels on the bus go round and round.
Earlier, a palpable sense of excitement over this impending journey surrounded a glowing South Side Catholic church, where a caravan of chartered buses and hundreds of men, women and children boarded, carrying overnight bags and blankets.
The buses departed about 8 p.m., from St. Sabina — a caravan of faith, led by Father Michael L. Pfleger and the audacity of hope. Hope for ending gun violence....
READ the full column by John Fountain at the Chicago Sun Time website
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The Depaulia: DePaul students attend anti-gun rally in D.C.
Kelly Garcia, Contributing Writer | September 30, 2019
An impromptu 12-hour bus ride isn’t generally considered an ideal weekend activity. But with the U.S. reaching 312 mass shootings in 2019 as of Sept. 29, according the the Gun Violence Archive, many considered this 12-hour bus ride a necessity.
Six hundred people, including 50 DePaul students, left on 12 buses this past Tuesday from Saint Sabina’s Church in Chicago to attend a gun violence rally in D.C. sponsored by over 50 organizations.
The group traveled under the guidance of Fr. Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of The Faith Community of Saint Sabina. In a press release sent out on ...Read the full article at https://depauliaonline.com
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Chicago Sun Times: Gun violence victims wrangle surprise meeting with McConnell legal counsel: the inside story
By Lynn Sweet Sep 25, 2019, 9:02pm CDT
Father Michael Pfleger, the senior pastor at the Faith Community of St. Sabina, organized a 600-person contingent from Chicago, with 12 buses ...Read the full article at https://chicago.suntimes.com
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ABC News: Hundreds of Chicagoans drive overnight to U.S. Capitol for gun violence rally
By Jesse R Kirsch | Wednesday, September 25, 2019 6:38AM
Hundreds of Chicagoans drive overnight to U.S. Capitol for gun violence rally...
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ABC News: Gun violence rally draws hundreds of Chicagoans to US Capitol
By Jesse R Kirsch | Wednesday, September 25, 2019 7:28PM
Rapper Common will also join the rally on the Capitol's west lawn, along with the hundreds of Chicagoans, according to Father Michael Pfleger.
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WGN TV: ‘I’m his voice’: Chicago groups join national anti-violence rally in DC
BY TAHMAN BRADLEY, UPDATED AT 06:05PM, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
Overnight, buses departed the Rev. Michael Pfleger's St. Sabina Church on Chicago's South Side for the 11 hour drive to DC. Pfleger's parish, and ...
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Chicago Sun Times: McConnell ‘doesn’t give a damn’ about gun violence, advocates say at surprise meeting with legal counsel
By Lynn Sweet Sep 25, 2019, 9:02pm CDT
Father Michael Pfleger, the senior pastor at the Faith Community of St. ... Pfleger told me his next move may well be to send buses to Kentucky rather ...
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iHeart Radio Inspiration 1390: Chicagoans travel to Washington D.C. for gun violence rally
By Sonya Blakey | September 25, 2019
Hundreds of Chicagoans including Father Michael Pfleger are in Washington D.C. this morning to fight for Congress to end gun violence. Father ...
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WTTW: Father Michael Pfleger: Gun Violence ‘Not Just a Chicago Problem’
The Rev. Michael Pfleger is taking his gun violence message to Washington, D.C.. The social activist and senior pastor at Saint Sabina Church will ...
By Tonia Hill
The Rev. Michael Pfleger is taking his gun violence message to Washington, D.C.
The social activist and senior pastor at Saint Sabina Church will join local and national organizations next week in D.C. to demand that Congress pass common sense gun safety laws.
“In this country, pressure brings about change. Change doesn’t happen on its own it comes from pressure,” Pfleger said.
The rally will take place Wednesday on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Fifty organizations based in Chicago and beyond are expected to attend as well as members of Congress, including U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois), John Lewis (D-Georgia) and Lucy McBath (D-Georgia), U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and others.
Pfleger is in favor of universal background checks and reinstating the assault weapon ban. He believes guns should be registered in the way cars are &nash; with titles. “We have to make people who buy guns responsible,” he said.
The debate on gun control legislation has gained momentum in the wake of recent mass shootings in Texas, Ohio, California and Chicago. To date, there have been 283 mass shootings in the U.S., according to data tracked by the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive.
And according to an August report by PBS News Hour, 110 bills containing the word “gun” have been introduced in Congress since January.
Chicago’s gun violence is a popular talking point for those who claim that “gun control doesn’t work.” To that argument, Pfleger says: “What’s so sad is that they’re displaying their ignorance. They keep saying ‘look at this violence in Chicago, and they have strict gun laws.’ Their ignorance is Chicago doesn’t live on an island to itself; it’s a part of America. As long as I can drive 15 minutes [to Indiana] and get what I want, whatever we’re doing in Chicago is a Band-Aid.”
According to the Chicago Police Department, the total number of shootings and homicides for August was at its lowest since 2011.
“This gun issue is an American problem. It’s not just a Chicago problem. We have children today going to school with bulletproof backpacks,” said Pfleger. “Children in our schools having more active shooter drills than fire drills. How many children are going to have to die before we as a country decide that we are going to protect them?”
For more information about the rally next week, visit saintsabina.org.