Mom March meets in Denver
By Danielle Seymour
Camera Staff Writer
Members of Boulder's Million Mom March chapter will point to the city's proposed gun ordinances as models for addressing gun safety at the organization's first national convention this weekend.
Members of the gun safety lobbying group will use their convention in Denver this weekend to speak out against gun tragedies. The group said it chose to meet in Denver because it's ground zero in the national debate over gun control.
The key to enacting progressive gun laws, according to Sam Cole, co-president of the Boulder Million Mom March group, is lobbying elected officials to gain support for local ordinances.
"Our legislators must vote as if their own children's lives depended upon this legislation," said Cole.
He said the Boulder City Council has taken progressive steps to introduce tough gun laws.
Boulder is considering six firearms ordinances to close existing loopholes and further strengthen the existing gun control laws.
In a June administrative hearing, city officials approved three of the Million Mom March chapter's recommendations. They included: requiring gun cases for open carriage of guns in public places; prohibiting knowingly furnishing a rifle or shotgun to a minor; and making it harder for minors to possess rifles and shotguns.
The proposals are still awaiting review by the City Council.
The national convention, held in downtown Denver at the Hyatt Regency, 1750 Welton, is a forum for national chapters to exchange information on gun safety and strategies for changing gun policies.
"We hope that the convention mobilizes the movement even more than it already has," Cole said. "Many people that come to the convention are victims of gun tragedies or know a victim. That camaraderie is very powerful."
About 10 members of Boulder's chapter, which is co-hosting the event, came out Thursday to affirm the local grassroots organization's goals for the national convention. They're campaigning for Boulder citizens to contact city officials and recommend common sense gun regulations.
Cole said it was symbolic of the group's diverse membership that the co-president of the local chapter is a man.
"I do this for the people like Anne Coakley that have lost loved ones to guns," he said. "I do this for a safer society."
Coakley is co-president of the Million Mom March Boulder chapter. Her daughter was killed in a 1996 gun accident when a stray bullet from a neighbor's gun went through her apartment wall, striking her in the head.
"When Tara was shot, there was no place for me to turn," she said. "Now, we have the Million Mom March to work toward responsible ownership, safety and common sense gun laws."
Coakley, who has been involved with the Boulder organization for more than a year, has found a purpose in her work for the Boulder chapter.
"I will continue to work in the gun safety area to prevent any other child from dying like my daughter did," Coakley said. "We are here for the long-term fighting on behalf of our children. We won't go away until our legislators pass some tough, but sensible, gun measures."
The conference began at 9 this morning and will conclude Saturday with an awards banquet from 7 to 10 p.m.
Copyright 2000 The Daily Camera.
------------------
"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 15, 2000).]
By Danielle Seymour
Camera Staff Writer
Members of Boulder's Million Mom March chapter will point to the city's proposed gun ordinances as models for addressing gun safety at the organization's first national convention this weekend.
Members of the gun safety lobbying group will use their convention in Denver this weekend to speak out against gun tragedies. The group said it chose to meet in Denver because it's ground zero in the national debate over gun control.
The key to enacting progressive gun laws, according to Sam Cole, co-president of the Boulder Million Mom March group, is lobbying elected officials to gain support for local ordinances.
"Our legislators must vote as if their own children's lives depended upon this legislation," said Cole.
He said the Boulder City Council has taken progressive steps to introduce tough gun laws.
Boulder is considering six firearms ordinances to close existing loopholes and further strengthen the existing gun control laws.
In a June administrative hearing, city officials approved three of the Million Mom March chapter's recommendations. They included: requiring gun cases for open carriage of guns in public places; prohibiting knowingly furnishing a rifle or shotgun to a minor; and making it harder for minors to possess rifles and shotguns.
The proposals are still awaiting review by the City Council.
The national convention, held in downtown Denver at the Hyatt Regency, 1750 Welton, is a forum for national chapters to exchange information on gun safety and strategies for changing gun policies.
"We hope that the convention mobilizes the movement even more than it already has," Cole said. "Many people that come to the convention are victims of gun tragedies or know a victim. That camaraderie is very powerful."
About 10 members of Boulder's chapter, which is co-hosting the event, came out Thursday to affirm the local grassroots organization's goals for the national convention. They're campaigning for Boulder citizens to contact city officials and recommend common sense gun regulations.
Cole said it was symbolic of the group's diverse membership that the co-president of the local chapter is a man.
"I do this for the people like Anne Coakley that have lost loved ones to guns," he said. "I do this for a safer society."
Coakley is co-president of the Million Mom March Boulder chapter. Her daughter was killed in a 1996 gun accident when a stray bullet from a neighbor's gun went through her apartment wall, striking her in the head.
"When Tara was shot, there was no place for me to turn," she said. "Now, we have the Million Mom March to work toward responsible ownership, safety and common sense gun laws."
Coakley, who has been involved with the Boulder organization for more than a year, has found a purpose in her work for the Boulder chapter.
"I will continue to work in the gun safety area to prevent any other child from dying like my daughter did," Coakley said. "We are here for the long-term fighting on behalf of our children. We won't go away until our legislators pass some tough, but sensible, gun measures."
The conference began at 9 this morning and will conclude Saturday with an awards banquet from 7 to 10 p.m.
Copyright 2000 The Daily Camera.
------------------
"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 15, 2000).]
