Post-Texas Gun Violence Vigil Gives Old Friend A New Cause

For the first time in her life, Vicki Seitz went to a protest vigil — because she didn’t want to leave her best friend standing there alone.

At least that’s what she thought at first.

Seitz and her friend Ellen Greist joined 20 people gathering early Thursday evening at Ernest Borgnine Park at Dixwell and Putnam Avenues in response to the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, and to remember those lost to gun violence in general.

Greist has been attending public protests her whole life. Seitz never had.

The Unitarian Society of New Haven organized the vigil, in which participants held up homemade signs decrying gun violence while passing drivers honked in support. Rev. Lindasusan Ulrich said she organized the event to raise awareness and create a place for people to bear witness to the tragedy together — and tell the world that this violence cannot continue. 

The vigil-goers spread out along the sidewalk bordering Borgnine Park and the Dixwell/Putnam intersection. Brightly colored signs and rainbow flags fluttered in their hands. Thumbs-ups and conversation accompanied the drivers’ supportive honks. A large poster was tied to a tree right behind the crowd listing hundreds of schools affected by shootings. 

“As a minister I have a lot of duties, but figuring out how many pages it would take to make a sign listing school shootings in the U.S. since 1998 — that was unexpected,” Ulrich reflected.

The Unitarian Society has a gun reform task force and works closely with Do Not Stand Idly By, a national and local organization that aims to increase safety regulations on guns instead of completely banning them. 

Vigil participant Jackie Trimble Shapiro recalled that her children were in fourth and sixth grade when the Columbine shooting occurred. She thought that significant gun reform would happen at that time. 

Sally Connolly, a member of the Unitarian Society, was dressed in bright orange, a common color choice at rallies to honor those lost to gun violence by mimicking what hunters wear to protect themselves in the woods. Connolly said that she attended Thursday evening so that she could speak out about her anger. Other local events are planned for people to register their voices, including a prayer vigil on the New Haven Green Friday at 6 p.m; an event called Wear Orange Weekend June 3 – 5 ; a CT Against Gun Violence rally on the New Haven Green June 2.

Ellen Griest (Vicki Seitz’s best friend) has been going to protests since 1964, beginning with one against the Vietnam War. She spent two and a half years in the Peace Corps in Punjab, India, and has stayed passionate about protesting throughout her life. 

She motioned Thursday evening to her walker. ​“My marching days are over,” she said, ​“but my rallying days are not.” Griest later quietly broke into song, humming Holly Near’s ​“We are a Gentle Angry People.”

“I think that if we just sat back, we’d be in a dictatorship,” Griest said. ​“At this point we must come out and put our bodies on the line for what we want to see happen.” 

Seitz said she was just not a vigil-going person. After Griest asked her to come to the vigil, she had originally said no. Then she felt too guilty about making her friend attend alone. So Seitz came along.

And ended up loving it. 

“My best friend changed my life right in front of me,” she said. She plans to attend more such events in the future. She came to the vigil skeptical — and left as a part of it.