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Marching mums take aim at the gun lobby
By MARK RILEY, Herald Correspondent, in New York
A group of concerned women is organising a Million Mums March on Congress to show their distress at the continuing incidence of gun violence among children and their dissatisfaction with the political response.
Although their numbers are more likely to be in the thousands, the marchers have a permit allowing their protest to take place on Mother's Day, May 14, adding symbolic impact to the cause.
The march borrows its name from Dr Martin Luther King's historic Million Man March on Washington in 1963, which gave an intense political focus to America's race debate.
The women's march is being organised by Ms Donna Dees-Thomases, a New Jersey mother of two who is a part-time publicist for the television variety show host David Letterman. She said she thought of the idea after watching footage of a gun assault on a Jewish child-care centre in Los Angeles last year.
"The images of terrified children being led in a line from the carnage that had just taken place inside were too much to bear," she said.
"They looked bewildered, confused and scared to death. Those kids were about the same age as my two. I felt ashamed. Ashamed because I've sat back while others battled the gun lobby to protect our children."
Working under the slogan: "We're Looking For a Few Good Mums", Ms Dees-Thomases and her fellow organisers hope the march will help add momentum to a gun debate that has been reactivated by the latest child shooting tragedy in Michigan.
Six-year-old Dedric Owens took a handgun from a crack-house he had been staying in and shot dead schoolmate Kayla Rolland in front of their class two weeks ago.
The Million Mum March group is supporting President Bill Clinton's call for a significant tightening of gun laws. Mr Clinton has called on Congress to support the addition of safety locks to all handguns, licensing for all owners and a new cooling-off period on gun purchases to allow more thorough background checks on the buyers.
The marchers have threatened to take particular political aim at politicians, such as the Republican Majority Whip, Mr Tom Delay, who have described Congress as "a pro-gun house".
"You stand by your guns, Mr Delay," the group said in a recent statement. "Come Mother's Day, we mothers will stand together on the mall of Capitol Hill to remind your pro-gun house that on election day the voters will stand by our children."
Marching mums take aim at the gun lobby
By MARK RILEY, Herald Correspondent, in New York
A group of concerned women is organising a Million Mums March on Congress to show their distress at the continuing incidence of gun violence among children and their dissatisfaction with the political response.
Although their numbers are more likely to be in the thousands, the marchers have a permit allowing their protest to take place on Mother's Day, May 14, adding symbolic impact to the cause.
The march borrows its name from Dr Martin Luther King's historic Million Man March on Washington in 1963, which gave an intense political focus to America's race debate.
The women's march is being organised by Ms Donna Dees-Thomases, a New Jersey mother of two who is a part-time publicist for the television variety show host David Letterman. She said she thought of the idea after watching footage of a gun assault on a Jewish child-care centre in Los Angeles last year.
"The images of terrified children being led in a line from the carnage that had just taken place inside were too much to bear," she said.
"They looked bewildered, confused and scared to death. Those kids were about the same age as my two. I felt ashamed. Ashamed because I've sat back while others battled the gun lobby to protect our children."
Working under the slogan: "We're Looking For a Few Good Mums", Ms Dees-Thomases and her fellow organisers hope the march will help add momentum to a gun debate that has been reactivated by the latest child shooting tragedy in Michigan.
Six-year-old Dedric Owens took a handgun from a crack-house he had been staying in and shot dead schoolmate Kayla Rolland in front of their class two weeks ago.
The Million Mum March group is supporting President Bill Clinton's call for a significant tightening of gun laws. Mr Clinton has called on Congress to support the addition of safety locks to all handguns, licensing for all owners and a new cooling-off period on gun purchases to allow more thorough background checks on the buyers.
The marchers have threatened to take particular political aim at politicians, such as the Republican Majority Whip, Mr Tom Delay, who have described Congress as "a pro-gun house".
"You stand by your guns, Mr Delay," the group said in a recent statement. "Come Mother's Day, we mothers will stand together on the mall of Capitol Hill to remind your pro-gun house that on election day the voters will stand by our children."
