A group of gun rights advocates who planned nationwide rallies on Dec. 14 now say they will not do so on the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Instead, organizer Alan Gottlieb says, they will rally the day after — Dec. 15, or "Bill of Rights Day," a holiday proclaimed in 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Organizers changed the date for promotional logos on the day's website to Dec. 15.
"Guns Save Lives Day is on December 15, 2013,Bill of Rights Day, the day after the Anniversary of Newtown," the website reads. "We plan to honor these victims by doing everything within our power to prevent misguided gun control laws from leaving Americans defenseless or worse victims."
Organizers — made up of members of the Second Amendment Foundation, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the website DefendGunRights.com — faced criticism in Newtown and elsewhere after announcing their plans.
First Selectman Pat Llodra condemned the decision, calling it "disrespectful to our community of Newtown and is of particularly insensitive timing."
"I respect their right to promote their beliefs regarding guns," she said in a statement Friday. "I ask that they respect our community and not use us for their purposes ... Those persons, who choose to not accede to our request to be left alone, show the world their own moral and ethical fiber."
In a statement posted on Facebook, advocacy group Newtown Action Alliance said they approved of the move.
"We applaud this display of compassion and decency," they wrote. "This is a hopeful sign."
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