Final weekend, a Queens, N.Y. man ran 120 miles (193 km) from Manhattan to Montauk, on the tip of Lengthy Island, over two days. His objective was to boost $15,000 for Everytown for Gun Security, a non-profit group that advocates for gun legislation reform.
Throughout his 48-hour run, Matthew Fertig, 22, raised greater than $8,000 on his GoFundMe web page. He was impressed to make a distinction in response to the taking pictures deaths of 17 individuals at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive College in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14, 2018.
“I used to be a senior in highschool when the Parkland taking pictures occurred, and I do know a number of those who misplaced family and friends that day,” Fertig says. “Sadly, 4 years later, now we have made a bit of progress within the combat to stop gun violence, however not sufficient.”
Everytown for Gun Security was based in 2013 to coach the general public concerning the dangerous results of unlawful weapons and to scale back gun violence in the USA. The group assists native governments and businesses with efficient training insurance policies to combat in opposition to unlawful weapons.
Lots of Fertig’s family and friends got here out to assist him on his run, with a number of collaborating in a minimum of one leg of his journey. “My objective is to see the federal authorities cross a commonsense gun reform,” says Fertig. “There must be strict background checks and a ban on the sale of bump shares and assault rifles.
“I began planning this run two years in the past, so it’s onerous to place into phrases how significant this previous weekend was for me,” he says.
You possibly can donate towards Fertig’s marketing campaign right here.
