PORTLAND — About 75 people gathered on the steps of Portland City Hall earlier today to participate in a candlelight vigil aimed at honoring and remembering the victims and survivors of gun violence.

The vigils, which were coordinated by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, took place in Augusta and Waterville, as well as cities across the country.

Sunday also marked the first anniversary of the Arizona shooting that killed six people and injured 13 others including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

Tom Franklin, president of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, said the gathering featured several speakers including  Dayna Klein of Portland.

Klein told the crowd that she was working at Jewish community center in Seattle five years ago when a gunman entered the facility and opened fire.

The man killed her friend and colleague and wounded Klein, who was eight months pregnant at the time.
The bullet narrowly missed her womb.

Her child was born and is alive today, Klein said.

Franklin said gun control laws in Maine are too  lax. He said he was told that a local, well known magazine has been advertising the sale of an AK-47 assault weapon.

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