(left) A gun rights advocate with Grassroots North Carolina at a No More Names rally in Raleigh sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Protesters gathered to read some of the names of the 6,000 people killed with a gun since the Dec. 14, 2013, massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The demonstrators called for universal background checks that would close the gun show loophole that does not require private, unlicensed gun sellers to perform a background check. Counterdemonstrators gathered to support their constitutional right to bear arms. They fear that additional gun legislation will disarm the law-abiding public.
(right) Crosses from a memorial to victims of unsolved homicides stacked inside Shepherd’s House United Methodist Church in East Durham. Each year, 70 percent to 85 percent of all homicides in Durham County are committed with a firearm, according to Durham Police Department statistics. Shepherd’s House UMC is highly active in stemming violence, memorializing the slain and promoting peace, unity and healing.
