web1_AP18048157397765.jpg

Adam Rippon turns down NBC correspondent gig

web1_119834786-e31c9dd5e720403f818f3617a50ccf56.jpg

Dillon drives 3 back to victory in Daytona 500

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Martha Hart remembers being awakened in the middle of the night with a gun to her head by a husband who was convinced she was cheating on him &#8212; a husband who owned the gun legally.</p><p>Hart said, although the incident happened in the late 1970s, she was willing to share it with attendees of a &#8220;Enough is Enough&#8221; gun-control rally Sunday on Public Square because of her strong belief in sound gun-control policies.</p><p>&#8220;No one with mental illness should own a gun,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I was eventually able to leave with my two girls, but not right away.&#8221;</p><p>The rally sponsored by Action Together, a grassroots activist organization dedicated to community action and political advocacy, drew more than 100 people. It was held in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead and 15 others injured.</p><p>Rabbi Roger Lerner, of Temple B&#8217;nai B&#8217;rith in Kingston, described the Parkland incident as &#8220;murdering and wounding innocents.&#8221;</p><p>He said the problem couldn&#8217;t simply be resolved by government officials or by adults.</p><p>&#8220;People aren&#8217;t listening, but if we get kids to say it, they will have to listen,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Moral outrage needs to come from children affected by this.&#8221;</p><p>Lerner said he had heard of several students considering picketing their school.</p><p>&#8220;If students everywhere picketed their schools, their voice would be clearly heard,&#8221; he said.</p><p>State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, said he wants to keep guns in the hands of law enforcement.</p><p>The original intent of the second amendment, he said, was for people to remain safe in their homes, before law enforcement had been fully established.</p><p>Referencing the alleged shooter in Parkland, Pashinski said, &#8220;What would it have been like if he didn&#8217;t have access to a AR15, a semi-automatic weapon?&#8221;</p><p>Such a weapon in the hands of an angry person, he said, leads to tragedy.</p><p>&#8220;What if someone had one right here, right now?&#8221; he said. &#8220;It would be a slaughter.&#8221;</p><p>Wyoming Valley West junior Chloe Poorman told attendees that many students in the district don&#8217;t feel safe.</p><p>&#8220;I think of the families raising children, giving them special nicknames, making sure they get to school,&#8221; she said. &#8220;All that could be taken away by someone with a gun.&#8221;</p><p>Poorman&#8217;s comment follow not only the Parkland shooting, but also a Facebook post seemingly depicting a former Wyoming Valley West High School student holding toy guns with the caption, &#8220;WVW&#8217;s next.&#8221;</p><p>Poorman encouraged lawmakers to take action.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll be voting sooner rather than later,&#8221; she said of high school students. &#8220;We&#8217;ll see you at the polls.&#8221;</p><p>Olanda Carter, of Wilkes-Barre, whose son, Tyzheke Seward, was killed in a shooting in 2014, told attendees that she was &#8220;done crying&#8221; and ready for action.</p><p>&#8220;We have the right to bear arms,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But what private citizen needs an assault rifle?&#8221;</p><p>Carter said she hoped her willingness to share her story would provide a better tomorrow for other parents.</p><p>&#8220;No one wants to be the mother of a child who died of a gunshot wound,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Ron Foy, Wilkes-Barre police commander, also addressed the group, encouraging strong parenting and community support of others.</p><p>&#8220;We already have laws,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Murder is against the law.&#8221;</p><p>Foy encouraged parents to be involved in the lives of their children.</p><p>&#8220;We get calls that parents can&#8217;t control their 8-year-old &#8212;<em> their 8-year-old</em>,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Know what your kids are doing. They don&#8217;t need another friend, they need a parent.&#8221;</p><p>Andrew Wilczak, assistant professor of criminology at Wilkes University, said, &#8220;I know we&#8217;re so sorry that we didn&#8217;t do more to prevent this. I will work, for the rest of my life if I have to, to make sure this doesn&#8217;t happen again.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally6_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rabbi Roger Lerner delivers a speech Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally6_faa-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rabbi Roger Lerner delivers a speech Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally5_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre police commander Ron Foy speaks to the crowd gathered Sunday on Public Square. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally5_faa-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes-Barre police commander Ron Foy speaks to the crowd gathered Sunday on Public Square. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally4_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Martha Hart talks about her experience with gun violence during a rally Sunday on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally4_faa-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Martha Hart talks about her experience with gun violence during a rally Sunday on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally3_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sherri Cannon, of Plymouth, and Joe Shafer, of Dorrance, hold signs on Public Square on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally3_faa-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Sherri Cannon, of Plymouth, and Joe Shafer, of Dorrance, hold signs on Public Square on Sunday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally2_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West junior Chloe Poorman speaks at Sunday&#8217;s rally on Public Square. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally2_faa-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Wyoming Valley West junior Chloe Poorman speaks at Sunday&#8217;s rally on Public Square. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally1_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Audrey Serniak, of Plains Township, holds up a pair of signs at &#8216;Enough is Enough&#8217; rally on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. More than 100 people turned out for the rally organized in response to the past week&#8217;s school shooting in Florida. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_gun_rally1_faa-2.jpg</photo5><caption5>Audrey Serniak, of Plains Township, holds up a pair of signs at &#8216;Enough is Enough&#8217; rally on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. More than 100 people turned out for the rally organized in response to the past week&#8217;s school shooting in Florida. </caption5><photoCredit5>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Crowd turns out for rally on Public Square</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table class="mceItemTable" style="border:none;width:98%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> MRwyC0JuD-c</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRwyC0JuD-c</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;">&lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/MRwyC0JuD-c&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; allow=&#8221;autoplay; encrypted-media&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Rally against gun violence held on Public Square