No one could ignore the fact that an Annapolis man died fewer than 24 hours before dozens of residents were due to rally in the city for gun violence prevention.
Rapper Edward Montre Seay, also known as Tre Da Kid, was 32 years old when he was found fatally shot inside a car that had been involved in a crash Friday night, according to police. The case remains under investigation.
The rally began with a moment silence for Seay.
The demonstration, organized by the Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, was a call to end gun violence. For some in attendance, the issue was personal.
Sheeree Rogers, a mom from Glen Burnie, was wearing a handmade orange t-shirt. “GUNZ DOWN, FIST UP. LET MY KIDS GROW UP.” She also made one for her 4-year-old son: “GUNZ DOWN, FIST UP. I WANT TO GROW UP,” his shirt read.
“I’ve lost friends, family,” she said. “So I decided to start a movement.”
Saturday marked Annapolis’ third annual “Wear Orange” event. The “Wear Orange” movement was started in 2013 by a group of Chicago teens; the campaign has been taken up by gun violence awareness organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action.
Many on Saturday imagined a future without “senseless” acts of gun violence, including the county executive.
“Nobody will drown out that common sense that guns need to be regulated and that can start right here in our county,” County Executive Steuart Pittman said.
He announced the county’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force will submit its recommendations by Dec. 15. The deadline will give state lawmakers enough time to introduce legislation based on the task force’s findings, Pittman said.
Annapolis Mayor Buckley echoed Pittman’s call to action. He spoke about Seay, who was killed in Ward 4. Police found his body in a car on Forest Drive and South Cherry Grove Avenue.
“He was on the way to be something. People’s hearts in the community are hurting,” Buckley said. “We need to stand with them and stop this kind of violence in the community.”
Bishop Charles Carroll, chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, knows that kind of violence well. He listed the names of men he’s buried since 2016, including his own son, Charles Carroll, Jr., who was shot in in 2016.
Davon Jones. Shaun Crowdy. George Forrester. Donte Cook, Sr. Edward Charles Wright, Jr. Michael A. Covert. Mark Edwards Gross, Jr. Bobby Dewayne Mack, Jr.
Most of the men were killed in the city’s public housing neighborhoods.
“We’re dying every day in our depressed communities,” said Carroll.
Participants on Saturday were encouraged to wear orange to honor American who have lost their lives to gun violence. Everything down to the snacks — Goldfish, carrots and Cheetos — were orange.
Andrea Chamblee wore a bright orange belt stamped with white Venus symbols. Her husband, John McNamara, was killed June 28, in the Capital Gazette newsroom along with four of his colleagues: Wendi Winters, Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman and Rebecca Smith.
She advised the crowd: “Fight the ones who offer us thoughts and prayers instead of doing the job they were asked to do.” Chamblee in April penned a column in The Capital that said Maryland Sen. Bobby Zirkin stood in the way of a bill that would have required background checks for all purchases of long guns.
Moms Demand Action has also lobbied for the failed bill. With chapters nationwide, they work to keep guns out of dangerous hands and protect children from gun violence.
County police donated 20 gun locks to the organization to give away on Saturday. Elise Handelman, who lives in Annapolis, took one to gift.
“I know someone who owns a gun and I wanted to make sure they have the information and the impetus to secure it,” she said.
Annapolis resident Tanya Watson said she remembers a time when people resolved fights without guns. Now, the violence is so common students regularly undergo active shooting drills.
Amy Emminizer, who graduated this year from South River High School described the mandatory drills in detail. An announcement comes over the loudspeaker.
Students rush to the nearest classroom and find a corner to tuck themselves into a corner. Some teachers will cover windows or doors to block the a potential shooter’s view.
“It feels disorienting,” she said.
She wants a better future for her peers and friends, she said.
