Julianne Moore, Deepak Chopra Discuss Gun Violence At Peace Week

NEW YORK CITY -- Hollywood star Julianne Moore, wellness expert Dr. Deepak Chopra, and the NYPD's top brass gathered in New York City Monday to call for an end to gun violence and honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Peace Week's annual town hall meeting brought Hollywood's and New York's finest to the BetaWorks Studios at 29 Little W 12th St. to discuss gun violence and mass incarceration on a day honoring the nation's iconic non-violent leader.

The panel of all-stars discussed and shared ideas while shifting perceptions to explore more common ground to achieve their main mission of ending senseless gun violence and mass incarceration.

“We must break down the barriers and silos among all of us and work inter-connectedly to change community norms," said Erica Ford, co-chair of the National Black & Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium. "No one has all the answers, but together we can solve the problem.”

Ford was also joined by elites from the NYPD and the fashion world, whose representatives both called out for change.

TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie discussed his company's recently launched initiative End Gun Violence Together, which he said has spurred 700,000 Americans to demand Congress pass universal background check legislation.

“Gun violence is an epidemic that requires every American coming together,” said Mycoskie. "I’m humbled to be joining such an intersectional group of activists and community, law enforcement, and business leaders committed to developing the legislation and grassroots programs that will finally save lives in communities across the country.”

"We are forging deeper connections with all the people we serve in every community," added NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, who discussed New York's community policing program. "[The NYPD is] building trust and strengthening relationships."

See best moments from Peace Week 2019 right through Daniela's Lens below:

4:45 p.m.
Julianne Moore has arrived.

4:44 p.m.
The 58-year-old Oscar Winner looks all comfy and casual today.

4:45 p.m.
And she is all smiles for the good cause today!

4:48 p.m.
Indian-born American author Deepak Chopra.

4:51 p.m.
A group shot before the panel starts.

5:06 p.m.
"What do I have, what can I offer as an actor? The thing that I have is access. If I call somebody they return my call. If I say something, someone will record it."

I only wish more celebs would use their voice for a good meaningful cause instead of trying to sell us more perfume, beauty products or clothes.

5:11 p.m.
"How did you get involved?" someone asks Julianne.

"It happened after Sandy Hook," she says. "My daughter was ten years old at the time, and she asked me: Mommy, did a bunch of little kids get shot today? And I was so ashamed, I mean it makes me cry every time I think about it. I'm so so ashamed of myself as a citizen and as a parent. If I don't do something about this, I'm not a decent mother, if I'm not doing anything to protect her or any other child in the United States. So that's when I started speaking out against gun violence, and I noticed that every time I said something, Twitter went nuts. Some people called me a hypocrite. Stupid actor! How dare you!"

The actress continued on that at the time she thought "Alright ok, what can I do about this? You know, actors are notoriously afraid to speak about social issues because they are afraid of blowback and they are afraid of losing their jobs. So I thought, I need to find people who are willing to speak out about this issue. And change the culture. So I said, I want to gather a group of actors and artists who are willing to speak out about it. And I started emailing everybody. The first person who said yes was Jennifer Lawrence, then Michael J. Fox and then I had 200 people. So that's how it started."

5:23 p.m.
"Music, poetry, breathing, yoga, movement, conscious communication, even looking somebody in the eyes and authentically acknowledging their presence, they are peace practices," says Deepak Chopra.

5:31 p.m.
"I see it; I see it every day. I don't know if you know how connected the NYPD officers are to tracking violence. Every shooting that happens in the city, every murder that happens in the city, I get the details on my phone almost instantaneously. It's a health issue: 754 shooting incidents in New York City last year. 295 murders. And most of that is in Brownsville, East Flatbush, Harlem, South Bronx. There is so much more we can do and need to do to prevent this," says James O'Neil.

Daniela Kirsch is an entertainment photographer and founder of NameFace— an event photo agency based in New York City. Through her creative expertise and unique visual style, Kirsch not only knows more than a thing or two about photographing A-list events, but is forever changing the way we interact with the entertainment industry. In June 2018, Kirsch teamed up with Patch to launch the photo series Daniela's Lens, offering weekly features from local events to red carpet magic.

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