Cyclists riding to reduce gun violence will stop in Newark Sunday.
Team 26 cyclists ride annually in honor of the 20 children and six adults killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.
They normally bike from Newtown to Washington D.C. But this year they plan to travel 600 miles from Newtown to Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania - ending near the Tree of Life Synagogue. A gunman shouting anti-Semitic slurs allegedly killed 11 people at the synagogue last year.
Newtown resident Monte Frank started Team 26 after the Sandy Hook shooting. He said the riders stop to visit with University of Delaware students every year because they want guns kept off college campuses.
“The college kids and the high school kids, Parkland and elsewhere, have a huge voice and they’re starting to use it," he said. "And we want to make sure that they use it more and speak up and help drive the change that is necessary to make everybody safer.”
Traci Manza Murphy of the Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence said local cyclists will join Team 26 at their event at Curtis Mill Park.
“We host some lunch for them and give them a little break and some Gatorade and then send them back on their way,” she said.
The team will eat lunch and listen to presentations at the UD before continuing their journey.
State lawmakers are currently considering some gun control measures, including expanding gun storage laws, requiring permits to purchase firearms and bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
