U.S. tech leaders and celebrities have joined a call for an “Internet moment of silence” on Friday to remember the victims of last week’s massacre of 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school.
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, television host Ryan Seacrest and singer Britney Spears were among the leaders of the “Stand with Sandy Hook” campaign launched online at causes.com, AFP reported.
They called for backers to halt online activity at 1:30 p.m. GMT on Friday to reflect on and seek action to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy.
“Please join in a national moment of silence in honor of the Sandy Hook victims called for by Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy,” the Web page said.
“At 9:30 a.m. EST, spend several minutes reflecting quietly on this terrible tragedy and take a five-minute pause from all online activity.”
The Web page also include a “badge” which can be placed on blogs or sites to show support.
“In the coming weeks and months, we must come together around common-sense solutions that will prevent the gun violence that has become all too frequent in communities across the country,” the statement said.
“2013 is the year to take meaningful action; observing this moment of silence on Friday, we can signal our resolve to stop senseless deaths like these from happening again.”
As of Thursday, more than 120,000 people had taken the pledge and 474,000 liked the action on Facebook, reported AFP.
Others backing the effort includes Salesforce.com chief Marc Benioff, tech investor Sean Parker, former American football star Joe Montana and actress Goldie Hawn.
Last Friday, 20-year-old Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle in the attack on the Connecticut elementary school, killing six staff and 20 children aged six or seven.
The slaughter has revived calls for stricter controls on arms in civilian hands. President Barack Obama has thrown his weight behind a bill to reintroduce a ban on civilians owning assault weapons, proposed by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Obama has also appointed Vice President Joe Biden to lead a government panel tasked with formulating a response to gun violence.
