Michiganders are looking for answers in the wake of the massacre in Las Vegas.
Gunman Stephen Paddock packed at least 10 suitcases with guns and ammo to a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. From there he opened fire on people attending a country music concert, killing 59 people and injuring nearly 530.
Law enforcement continues to search for a motive.
Others are wondering about what should happen next.
Tonight more than 50 people holding candles sang quietly on the lawn of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Midland. They remembered the hundreds of victims of Sunday night’s shooting.
They didn’t talk about specific solutions to gun violence, but instead hoped to start a conversation among all sides of the gun control debate.
Sarah Schultz is with Women of Michigan Action Network. She hopes the usual barriers don’t get in the way of change.
“If we can all agree that what happened in Las Vegas should never happen again, can we start there? And figure out from there what to do,” says Schultz.
Prior to Sunday’s massacre, state and federal lawmakers were considering changes that would loosen gun laws. Some of those bills are now on hold.
Carol Sullivan with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America helped organize the vigil.
She says it’s up to the public to get politicians to take action.
“When the constituents feel that this is a make or break issue for them, they’ll vote differently,” says Sullivan, “Until then, they are going to be motivated by what the gun lobby charges them to do.”
On Monday, White House Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee-Sanders said “there will certainly be a time for that policy discussion to take place, but that’s not the place that we’re in at this moment.”
