Around a hundred souls packed the Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church Sunday to join a nationwide call for laws to stop gun violence.

The event, part of the third annual Concert Across America to End Gun Violence, began shortly after 4 p.m. in the city’s Pleasant City neighborhood, a section of town all too familiar with gun crimes.

This year’s series started nationwide Thursday and ends next Sunday with an event in Parkland related to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which happened in February. The West Palm and Parkland events are the only two in Florida.

Speakers included Gail Schwartz, the aunt of 14-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High victim Alexander Schachter, who urged a ban on assault weapons. "This is not a Democratic issue. It’s a public safety issue, it’s a human rights issue," Schwartz said.

"Our schools have become battlefields," she said. If our troops were attacked abroad, the government would respond, so "where is our declaration of war against these guns?" she asked.

The national ‘Concert Across America to End Gun Violence’ started in Hawaii in 2016 and its anti-violence performances now happen across the country.The inaugural West Palm Beach concert begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, 2018, at Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. State Senator Bobby Powell (District 30) is the master of ceremonies.(Melanie Bell / The Palm Beach Post)

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Several speakers called for citizens to register and vote for candidates who support gun-control legislation.

State Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, who served as master of ceremonies, said the state Legislature this year set aside money for school safety and psychological treatment but failed to act on assault weapons. He recognized a handful of political candidates in the audience.

"It’s so important to call for common-sense gun laws and an end to gun violence," West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio told the receptive crowd.

Derron Blake Jr., 7, is embraced by his mother Carol Blake after he brings the crowd to their feet by his speech. "I have an Uncle Mike who was killed in Riviera Beach," said Blake, "I now have an Angel Mike." The crowds jump to their feet and join in to his shout, "We can, we shall, we will end gun violence!" The national ‘Concert Across America to End Gun Violence’ started in Hawaii in 2016 and its anti-violence performances now happen across the country.The inaugural West Palm Beach concert begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, 2018, at Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. State Senator Bobby Powell (District 30) is the master of ceremonies.(Melanie Bell / The Palm Beach Post)

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The audience gave a standing ovation to 7-year-old speaker Derron Blake Jr., who spoke of losing an uncle and others close to him, to gunfire. Derron spoke of Martin Luther King Jr.’s entreaties against violence, noting that King himself was assassinated.

"Please vote," he urged. "And to all the kids out there, if you see something, say something."

Also urging action were Rabbi Barry Silver, of the Interfaith Justice League; Angela Williams, founder of Mothers Against Murderers Association; and Wynna Dunmyer, of Moms Demand Action. The concert performers included poets, singers, musicians and church choirs.

Gwendolyn Kelly (left) and Rhoda Lerner reach across the aisle to join hands during a prayer. The national ‘Concert Across America to End Gun Violence’ started in Hawaii in 2016 and its anti-violence performances now happen across the country.The inaugural West Palm Beach concert begins at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, 2018, at Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. State Senator Bobby Powell (District 30) is the master of ceremonies.(Melanie Bell / The Palm Beach Post)

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer