A Quebec pro-gun lobby group is receiving an outpouring of criticism for hosting a pro-gun rally at a memorial site commemorating the women who were killed during the mass shooting at École Polytechnique in 1989.
According to a Facebook event post, Tous contre un registre Québécois des armes à feu is hosting the rally days before December 6 –the 28th anniversary of the shooting.
“A peaceful, nationwide meeting against excessive firearm control will be held in Montreal on Saturday, December 2, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, in Place du 6-décembre-1989, at the corner of Decelles Avenue and Queen Mary Road,” wrote the group.
The Place du 6-décembre-1989 is a park memorial created for the victims of the attack.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante took to Twitter to speak out against the rally.
La manifestation pro-armes à la place commémorative de la tuerie de Polytechnique témoigne d’un manque de jugement, mais aussi d’un manque de respect inacceptable envers les victimes de cette tragédie et toutes les femmes victimes de violence https://t.co/xUXbqadkI9 #polmtl
— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) November 28, 2017
“The pro-arms demonstration at the commemorative square of the Polytechnique massacre testifies to a lack of judgment, but also an unacceptable disrespect for the victims of this tragedy and all the women victims of violence,” she wrote.
The pro-gun group has also received backlash on its Facebook event page.
“Creating this event for “Non-registered” firearms where 14 young girls were killed by fire and 14 others seriously injured, is an incitement to violence and a blatant lack of judgement,” wrote one Facebook user.
Th École Polytechnique shooting killed 14 women. It is the worst mass-shooting in Canadian history.