Attendees, who stood wrapped in winter coats against the breezy cold night air, brought small electronic candles while others used the flashlight on their mobile phones and held them up in the air, creating a scene of sparkling light on Boston Common.
Dozens of blue-and-yellow flags fluttered in a cold wind outside the Parkman Bandstand. Some brandished signs. “Return our kidnapped children,” read one. “Crimea is Ukraine,” read another. A third: “I miss home.”
The 125-page measure would strengthen the state's assault weapons ban, limit where guns can be carried, and crack down on unregistered, so-called "ghost guns."