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Through My Eyes... |
Moms, Dads, Good-Hearted Volunteers, Kids Against Gun Violence
May 28, 2003
By Cornelia Spelman
(This was first published in 2003. Parents in every state need to take action to ensure that all states have SENSIBLE gun laws. Read PRIVATE GUNS PUBLIC HEALTH by David Hemenway (University of Michigan Press, 2004) and also visit the website of the Coalition Against Gun Violence http://www.csgv.org
We were a heroic little busload. Two mothers whose children had been murdered by gun violence, a bunch of assorted others giving up their day to try to prevent gun violence, and a group of sweet teen-agers from a Chicago group called "Hands Against Guns," sponsored by Uhlich Children's Home.
Chicago's "Hands Against Guns" kids.
Those brave and sad-faced mothers, those young people, their adult coordinator Warfield Perkins, me (representing the Chicagoland North Shore Chapter of Million Mom March,) a bunch of folks from the Illinois Coalition Against Handgun Violence, Mike Robbins, a former Chicago policeman now consulting with schools and communities to prevent youth violence--all of us rocking along the gray, sleety highway to our state capitol to meet with our elected representatives.
Yes, it was just us against the most powerful, richest lobby in America. What were we asking our legislators to support? *Prohibiting the sale, possession and manufacture of military style assault weapons to civilians. *Ensuring that a criminal background check is conducted on all sales at gun shows (eliminating the "gun show loophole.") Hardly radical measures. Although the richest and most powerful lobby in America tells people otherwise, all gun violence prevention groups are working simply to enact SENSIBLE gun laws to save lives. It really is that simple. No one is looking to take away the guns of sportspersons to hunt. We just do not want our children to be hunted.
We gave a little slip of paper to the usher at the door of the state House of Representatives asking to speak to him or her about a House Bill. Then the representative could step outside to speak to us. Several were thoughtful and polite. One, a harsh-looking man with a sneering manner, said rudely, "What do you want? Give me some legislation I can support!" and walked away from us. There was a lot to learn for the kids and for all of us aboaut Democracy in Action (and Inaction.) In the bus on the four-hour ride home, I thought about the lavish receptions given by the gun lobby for legislators, about their paid lobbyists, about the hundreds of phone calls they pay workers to make to legislators. I looked around the darkened, quiet bus, at the mothers of the murdered children; the kids who came all the way downstate to our state capitol; the tired volunteers.
MMM's Nancy Kim Philips, Chicago's Mike Robbins.