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Cyclists Ride From Newtown to D.C. With Message for Lawmakers

A group of cyclists completed a 400 mile bike ride on Tuesday from Newtown, Connecticut to Washington, D.C. This is the second annual Sandy Hook Ride on Washington.

Team 26, a group of 26 cyclists from Newtown and around the country, left Newtown's Edmund Town Hall on Saturday. On the way to D.C., they held rallies in Harlem; Morristown, New Jersey; Doylestown, Pennsylvania; and Baltimore, Maryland.

The ride has a dual purpose: to remember all victims of gun violence, including those who died at Sandy Hook, and to encourage Congress to pass what they call "common sense" measures. These are measures like a ban on military-style assault weapons, universal background checks, and restrictions on gun ownership for people with severe mental illness.

Newtown resident Monte Frank, the founder of Team 26, and one of the riders, said it's time for lawmakers to listen to the will of the people. "As Congress sits idly by," he said, "more Americans are dying. If Congress would do what many states have done, then we could reduce the level of gun violence that currently plagues our nation."

Team 26 rode into Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, where they visited Washington's National Cathedral, and then cycled across town to a news conference at the U.S. Capitol with Connecticut's congressional delegation.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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