Warm and Fuzzy time. I guess there were no malls on the bridge. 
" a handful of representatives for the Million Moms March, ".
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/bridge5_20000905.htm
Bridge walk turns political
Activists join Engler on annual trek
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Tens of thousands of Michigan residents took part in tradition Monday morning as a way to mark Labor Day, the annual holiday celebrating workers and the gains they've made over the years.
The Mackinac Bridge walk led by Gov. John Engler and his family drew the usual 60,000-plus crowd of hikers.
Deborah Demongeot, 54, of Hillsdale, walked the bridge between Michigan's peninsulas for the first time with her son, Nick, 12.
"I thought I'd warm up and sweat, but I didn't sweat at all," she said about her trek on the sunny but cool morning. "Going up the hill was hard."
Nick said, "It was easier than I thought it would be."
This year's walk was sprinkled with political messages on issues from school vouchers to gun control.
Rich Brown of Grosse Pointe Park was among a handful of representatives for the Million Moms March, a group in favor of stricter gun controls.
He said the group is not seeking to outlaw guns.
"I'm a gun owner," he said. "I feel there should be a little more control over access to guns."
Brown said the group had hoped 1,000 of its members would walk the bridge, and that bad weather on Sunday probably discouraged many from showing up.
Before the walk, Brown engaged in a debate with Greg Granger of Lansing, a member of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners.
Granger said he expected at least 75 walkers to counter the Million Moms contingent.
"If you don't protect your rights, they will be taken away from you," Granger said.
Engler walked the entire 5 miles from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City with his wife, Michelle, and for less than half a mile with their 6-year-old triplet daughters. The sisters rode the rest of the way in a security van that followed the governor.
Engler, a Republican, offered his insight on the presidential race, saying he had expected Republican candidate George W. Bush and Democratic Vice President Al Gore to be nearly even in Michigan polls by Labor Day.
"Michigan is not a state that anyone is going to win by huge margins," he said. "The fight is in many ways for more blue-collar voters, UAW members."
Engler said Gore favors giving Washington bureaucrats greater regulatory control over the auto industry, including tighter fuel efficiency standards.
"Bush is more committed to trying to move the industry forward by letting the market dictate," he said.
Engler said Bush knows the need to distinguish himself from Gore in key swing states such as Michigan.
"The campaign has more than two months to go," he said. "That's a lifetime in a campaign."
Contact CHRIS CHRISTOFF at 313-222-6609 or christoff@freepress.com.
All content © copyright 2000 Detroit Free Press
And then we have . . .
MMMFORCE
Page 6A
Million Moms say their group is becoming a force
By Alison Gerber
USA TODAY
They've put away the poster boards and packed up the pink T-shirts, but mothers and other activists from Alaska to Florida are continuing their efforts to raise a grass-roots army to lobby for gun control.
It's been nearly four months since thousands of women and men -- as many as 750,000 by some counts -- descended on Washington for the Million Mom March, spilling emotion and demanding tougher gun-control laws.
Critics said the Mother's Day rally was nothing more than a feel-good day of rhetoric and celebrity splash. They predicted the buzz would fade once the sun set on May 14.
''Momentum has only increased since then,'' Million Mom March President Mary Leigh Blek says. ''It's a movement now. The moms are going to be a force, alongside the gun lobby.''
The movement is preparing to celebrate on Wednesday the one-year anniversary of its founding. Group members will hold news briefings today to discuss their upcoming agenda, including the first conference Sept. 15-16 in Denver. They expect about 250 people to attend. The idea for a march sprouted last September in the living room of Donna Dees-Thomases, a well-connected and politically savvy mother in New Jersey. Dees-Thomases is a Million Mom board member, but she stepped down from day-to-day operations to spend more time with her children.
After the march, the moms merged with the San Francisco-based Bell Campaign and formed the Million Mom March Foundation. Organizers also created a new lobbying group, called the Million Mom March. Eighteen chapters have been chartered. An additional 209 nationwide are forming. Staff has jumped from eight to 25 people.
They have five offices across the country and are preparing to open a sixth in Washington as soon as a lease is negotiated. They've held sessions in five cities to train moms on forming chapters and lobbying effectively.
Members are now surveying lawmakers and political candidates on their gun control views. The results will be used to decide endorsements in state and federal races. ''We're especially interested in city and local races -- those are the pool of people who will be moving up the chain,'' says Andrew McGuire, executive director of the Million Mom March. ''We want to get them on record early in their careers with this issue.''
The group plans to use a $1 million donation given anonymously in August to ''get out the vote'' in seven as-yet undecided congressional districts with tight races between pro-gun-rights and pro-gun-control candidates. Local chapters have handed out literature at festivals and planned voter registration drives. In Lake Worth, Fla., moms collected signatures at a rally held to honor a teacher who was shot to death by a seventh-grader. After the shooting, they also set up a toll-free number for counseling.
In Oregon, members gathered signatures for a referendum to require universal background checks at gun shows. ''I stood in front of the library and got signatures. We went to night events with flashlights and pens and clipboards and got signatures,'' says Elizabeth Steffensen of Eugene, Ore.
More rallies have been held -- on July 4 in Lexington, Ky., and across Michigan's Mackinac Bridge on Monday. In some cases, it's been difficult to keep people committed after the march because members are juggling careers and kids, car pools and Little League. Anne Whitefield, 58, a retired principal in Nashville, has a database of 250 names -- people who marched or joined other Million Mom activities. But only 21 people are members of the local chapter.
''Whenever there is a major event like the march, you have tendency to get a lot of people, but it takes a while to get a core of long-term volunteers,'' Whitefield says. Since March, the Million Moms have pulled in about $400,000, not counting the $1 million donation, McGuire said. Their goal is to raise $3 million more by the end of next year.
Also growing, albeit at a slower pace, is a group that formed to counterprotest the moms' rally in May. The Second Amendment Sisters have chapters in 38 states. Organizers say they don't have an accurate count of members. ''We're small and grass-roots. We don't have $1 million to hire people to send out information, and we don't have a publicist,'' says Maria Heil, the group's Pennsylvania coordinator. ''But we're still here to let people know the other side.''
© Copyright 2000 USA TODAY
------------------
"The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside
the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12)
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited September 05, 2000).]
" a handful of representatives for the Million Moms March, ".http://www.freep.com/news/mich/bridge5_20000905.htm
Bridge walk turns political
Activists join Engler on annual trek
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Tens of thousands of Michigan residents took part in tradition Monday morning as a way to mark Labor Day, the annual holiday celebrating workers and the gains they've made over the years.
The Mackinac Bridge walk led by Gov. John Engler and his family drew the usual 60,000-plus crowd of hikers.
Deborah Demongeot, 54, of Hillsdale, walked the bridge between Michigan's peninsulas for the first time with her son, Nick, 12.
"I thought I'd warm up and sweat, but I didn't sweat at all," she said about her trek on the sunny but cool morning. "Going up the hill was hard."
Nick said, "It was easier than I thought it would be."
This year's walk was sprinkled with political messages on issues from school vouchers to gun control.
Rich Brown of Grosse Pointe Park was among a handful of representatives for the Million Moms March, a group in favor of stricter gun controls.
He said the group is not seeking to outlaw guns.
"I'm a gun owner," he said. "I feel there should be a little more control over access to guns."
Brown said the group had hoped 1,000 of its members would walk the bridge, and that bad weather on Sunday probably discouraged many from showing up.
Before the walk, Brown engaged in a debate with Greg Granger of Lansing, a member of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners.
Granger said he expected at least 75 walkers to counter the Million Moms contingent.
"If you don't protect your rights, they will be taken away from you," Granger said.
Engler walked the entire 5 miles from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City with his wife, Michelle, and for less than half a mile with their 6-year-old triplet daughters. The sisters rode the rest of the way in a security van that followed the governor.
Engler, a Republican, offered his insight on the presidential race, saying he had expected Republican candidate George W. Bush and Democratic Vice President Al Gore to be nearly even in Michigan polls by Labor Day.
"Michigan is not a state that anyone is going to win by huge margins," he said. "The fight is in many ways for more blue-collar voters, UAW members."
Engler said Gore favors giving Washington bureaucrats greater regulatory control over the auto industry, including tighter fuel efficiency standards.
"Bush is more committed to trying to move the industry forward by letting the market dictate," he said.
Engler said Bush knows the need to distinguish himself from Gore in key swing states such as Michigan.
"The campaign has more than two months to go," he said. "That's a lifetime in a campaign."
Contact CHRIS CHRISTOFF at 313-222-6609 or christoff@freepress.com.
All content © copyright 2000 Detroit Free Press
And then we have . . .
MMMFORCE
Page 6A
Million Moms say their group is becoming a force
By Alison Gerber
USA TODAY
They've put away the poster boards and packed up the pink T-shirts, but mothers and other activists from Alaska to Florida are continuing their efforts to raise a grass-roots army to lobby for gun control.
It's been nearly four months since thousands of women and men -- as many as 750,000 by some counts -- descended on Washington for the Million Mom March, spilling emotion and demanding tougher gun-control laws.
Critics said the Mother's Day rally was nothing more than a feel-good day of rhetoric and celebrity splash. They predicted the buzz would fade once the sun set on May 14.
''Momentum has only increased since then,'' Million Mom March President Mary Leigh Blek says. ''It's a movement now. The moms are going to be a force, alongside the gun lobby.''
The movement is preparing to celebrate on Wednesday the one-year anniversary of its founding. Group members will hold news briefings today to discuss their upcoming agenda, including the first conference Sept. 15-16 in Denver. They expect about 250 people to attend. The idea for a march sprouted last September in the living room of Donna Dees-Thomases, a well-connected and politically savvy mother in New Jersey. Dees-Thomases is a Million Mom board member, but she stepped down from day-to-day operations to spend more time with her children.
After the march, the moms merged with the San Francisco-based Bell Campaign and formed the Million Mom March Foundation. Organizers also created a new lobbying group, called the Million Mom March. Eighteen chapters have been chartered. An additional 209 nationwide are forming. Staff has jumped from eight to 25 people.
They have five offices across the country and are preparing to open a sixth in Washington as soon as a lease is negotiated. They've held sessions in five cities to train moms on forming chapters and lobbying effectively.
Members are now surveying lawmakers and political candidates on their gun control views. The results will be used to decide endorsements in state and federal races. ''We're especially interested in city and local races -- those are the pool of people who will be moving up the chain,'' says Andrew McGuire, executive director of the Million Mom March. ''We want to get them on record early in their careers with this issue.''
The group plans to use a $1 million donation given anonymously in August to ''get out the vote'' in seven as-yet undecided congressional districts with tight races between pro-gun-rights and pro-gun-control candidates. Local chapters have handed out literature at festivals and planned voter registration drives. In Lake Worth, Fla., moms collected signatures at a rally held to honor a teacher who was shot to death by a seventh-grader. After the shooting, they also set up a toll-free number for counseling.
In Oregon, members gathered signatures for a referendum to require universal background checks at gun shows. ''I stood in front of the library and got signatures. We went to night events with flashlights and pens and clipboards and got signatures,'' says Elizabeth Steffensen of Eugene, Ore.
More rallies have been held -- on July 4 in Lexington, Ky., and across Michigan's Mackinac Bridge on Monday. In some cases, it's been difficult to keep people committed after the march because members are juggling careers and kids, car pools and Little League. Anne Whitefield, 58, a retired principal in Nashville, has a database of 250 names -- people who marched or joined other Million Mom activities. But only 21 people are members of the local chapter.
''Whenever there is a major event like the march, you have tendency to get a lot of people, but it takes a while to get a core of long-term volunteers,'' Whitefield says. Since March, the Million Moms have pulled in about $400,000, not counting the $1 million donation, McGuire said. Their goal is to raise $3 million more by the end of next year.
Also growing, albeit at a slower pace, is a group that formed to counterprotest the moms' rally in May. The Second Amendment Sisters have chapters in 38 states. Organizers say they don't have an accurate count of members. ''We're small and grass-roots. We don't have $1 million to hire people to send out information, and we don't have a publicist,'' says Maria Heil, the group's Pennsylvania coordinator. ''But we're still here to let people know the other side.''
© Copyright 2000 USA TODAY
------------------
"The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside
the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12)
[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited September 05, 2000).]