VIDEO: Gun control advocates gather near White House

Gun control advocates gathered near the White House, many holding white candles, in a demonstration calling for a renewed discussion of gun control policy after a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., left almost three dozen children and adults dead, reported the Associated Press. Multiple signs read "#TodayISTheDay," a response to Press Secretary Jay Carney's assertion that "today is not the day" to discuss gun control in the United States. However, the demonstrators made no specific appeals, reported Talking Points Memo.

"We can change the worst conditions of our country. Together we can change the pain into joy. Together we can change the sorrow into gladness," said one demonstrator.

The speaker then called on everyone to hold their candles high so that everyone can see that "today is the day."

Over 1,600 people have signed an online petition created on whitehouse.gov regarding the shootings, as of 7:00 p.m. Dec 14. It reads, "The most recent mass shooting in Connecticut highlights our nation's ongoing inability to address the epidemic of gun violence. We ask that President Obama form a commission of appointed citizens to explore meaningful steps we as a nation can take to control and reduce gun violence."

If 25,000 people sign any given petition, the White House will respond.

UPDATE: Multiple gun control advocacy organizations reported unprecedented donations in the wake of the shooting, reported the Huffington Post. The Brady Campaign, one such organization, said that its site crashed.

Watch the video, via the AP, below.