Members of the anti-violence group Stand Up Bermuda have split off to form a new group, Together for Bermuda, following a rift in the organisation’s leadership.Meanwhile, Stand Up Bermuda founder Jahma Gibbons says he plans to continue with the old organisation and reach out to Bermuda’s youth. Calling the split “unfortunate”, Mr Gibbons said: “This group was founded solely for the purposes of bringing Bermudians together to stop the gun violence that is plaguing our beautiful and once peaceful Island.“I chose a committee because I could not do this alone. A movement like Stand Up Bermuda needs each and every one of us to be willing and active participants in order to reach the goal of peace.”Adding that he refused to speak negatively of his former committee, Mr Gibbons said: “What I will say however, is this. Stand Up Bermuda is not about me. It is not about the glory or the notoriety that comes with publicity. It is about making sure that our people return to living alongside one another peacefully. It’s about hope. It’s about Bermuda’s future.“Now all we can do is move forward and continue with what many anti-gun violence groups past and present have started. It would be a great shift towards a positive and peaceful Bermuda if all of the anti-violence groups amalgamate and work towards peace as one entity.”Mr Gibbons said he hoped to organise a youth forum, saying: “A lot of things are going on with them that older people aren’t understanding. Our issues aren’t going away until we get to the core of this.”Progressive Labour Party MP Dale Butler said he had met with Mr Gibbons yesterday.“I admired what he had done with starting a group. We have so many groups in Bermuda that it can become overwhelming. I was very impressed with the large numbers of supporters that Jahma got.”Continued Mr Butler: “I wanted to meet with him, to give him the support to continue. When you have a falling out over leadership, you can step back from things and end up stepping off. But we need to have as many people involved in helping out community as possible, and that goes for any group.”Mr Butler said that as a member of Parliament with similar concerns for Bermuda’s future, “I wanted him to share his thoughts, and I encouraged Jahma to meet with other members of Government as well.”Stand Up Bermuda, which acquired nearly 3,000 members primarily through Facebook split up over leadership disagreements in the run-up to Tuesday’s Bermuda Day celebration. Former associates of Mr Gibbons last night said they had agreed to regroup under a new name.Spokeswoman Shawnette Somner said the group Together For Bermuda picked up “500 members in its first four hours”.“People are very supportive of us,” she said. “We want people to know that our sole focus will be remaining positive and keeping the vision we started for a better Bermuda.”She said Together for Bermuda intends to act separately from the former group. We will not be holding a peace rally on June 26, because that was a date set with Mr Gibbons. Our group will continue to plan for a peace march, however.”She said the group of 10 organisers who had worked with Mr Gibbons had resolved to leave the name of Stand Up Bermuda with its founder. “We did not want a battle over a name,” Ms Somner said. “Our cause is not about a name.”Useful web link: www.facebook.com, www.standupbermuda.org.