EXORCISM' TARGETS EVILS OF GUN SALES
By Lola Smallwood
Tribune Staff Writer
August 11, 2000
More than 100 anti-gun protesters held what they called an exorcism outside
a Riverdale gun shop Thursday to symbolically drive the evils of gun sales
out of their communities.
As a priest sprinkled the entrance of Chuck's Dolton Gun Shop with holy
water and recited prayers typically used during exorcisms, the diverse
throng of clergy, activists, parents and children prayed for people killed
or scarred by gun violence.
"This shop has made a lot of money--a killing--at the expense of our
children," said Barbara Nelson of the Million Moms March/Bell Campaign
Chapter in south suburban Dolton. "We want businesses like this out of our
neighborhood. We are tired of losing our brothers, sisters, cousins, sons
and daughters to gun violence."
Though a "closed" sign hung on the store's door, a shop manager answered the
phone. He refused to comment on the vigil.
Speaking into a bullhorn, Nelson explained how her son, Marlon, was shot to
death three years ago while saying goodbye to old friends in Roseland a day
before he was to leave for college.
A half dozen others spoke of similar tragedies or sounded a bell marking the
death of a loved one.
Chuck's Dolton Gun Shop, 14310 S. Indiana Ave., has one of the highest rates
in the nation of guns traced to violence, including the .357 revolver used
to shoot Chicago Police Officer Michael Ceriale in 1998, said Van Bensett,
chairman of the Centro Comunitario Juan Diego in Chicago.
Under the beating afternoon sun, participants toted signs that read "Guns
Kill" and "No Mas Armas" while speakers prayed for the closure of suburban
gun shops as a way to curb the flow of weapons on area streets.
"As late as Saturday we buried a woman's son," said James Teer, a member of
the Roseland Christian Ministries, who attended the vigil. "They can't buy
guns in Chicago. This is where the guns come from. [Shooters] buy them in
the suburbs and bring them back to the city."
As the crowd sang, " Riverdale officers quietly stood by, asking some of the
participants to stand clear of the shop's door.
The hourlong vigil was organized by several religious and community groups
from Chicago to Goshen, Ind., including the Interfaith Initiative Against
Gun Violence in Chicago; St. Kevin's Church in South Deering; and Centro
Comunitario Juan Diego on Chicago's South Side.
"We came with two school-bus loads of people because we've known of four
families at our center whose children were killed by guns in the last year,"
said Rosa Perea, community organizer for Centro Comunitario Juan Diego.
"It's important to send a message that enough is enough."
The center houses the Arnold Mireles Center for Human Rights, named after
the anti-violence activist who was shot down outside of the Chicago center
nearly three years ago. Mireles' sister, Sonia, attended the vigil.
Chuck's Dolton Gun Shop, like many others in nearby suburbs, has come under
legal and community pressure in recent years.
Last year, the City of Chicago filed a $433 million lawsuit against 12
suburban gun shops, 22 gun manufacturers and four distributors, accusing
them of flooding the city with guns they knew could be used in a crime.
That same year, the federal government followed suit by filing criminal
charges against five suburban gun shops for illegally selling handguns and
semiautomatic weapons last August.
Employees of two of those shops have since been acquitted, while the
corporate owner and two employees of a third shop, B&H Sports in Oak Lawn,
were convicted.
Two other cases are pending trial.
The charges came after undercover Chicago police officers posed as gang
members and allegedly made it clear their purchases were on behalf of
others, in violation of federal law, yet still were able to buy weapons.
Charges were not filed against Chuck's.
But even the youngest protesters Thursday said they would not feel safe as
long as gun sales were allowed.
"I came to stop the gun sales," said Porfirio Serrano, 14, who attended the
vigil with his friends. "I have a friend who saw someone get shot in the
face right in front of her. We could get shot like that by accident while
we're out playing."
By Lola Smallwood
Tribune Staff Writer
August 11, 2000
More than 100 anti-gun protesters held what they called an exorcism outside
a Riverdale gun shop Thursday to symbolically drive the evils of gun sales
out of their communities.
As a priest sprinkled the entrance of Chuck's Dolton Gun Shop with holy
water and recited prayers typically used during exorcisms, the diverse
throng of clergy, activists, parents and children prayed for people killed
or scarred by gun violence.
"This shop has made a lot of money--a killing--at the expense of our
children," said Barbara Nelson of the Million Moms March/Bell Campaign
Chapter in south suburban Dolton. "We want businesses like this out of our
neighborhood. We are tired of losing our brothers, sisters, cousins, sons
and daughters to gun violence."
Though a "closed" sign hung on the store's door, a shop manager answered the
phone. He refused to comment on the vigil.
Speaking into a bullhorn, Nelson explained how her son, Marlon, was shot to
death three years ago while saying goodbye to old friends in Roseland a day
before he was to leave for college.
A half dozen others spoke of similar tragedies or sounded a bell marking the
death of a loved one.
Chuck's Dolton Gun Shop, 14310 S. Indiana Ave., has one of the highest rates
in the nation of guns traced to violence, including the .357 revolver used
to shoot Chicago Police Officer Michael Ceriale in 1998, said Van Bensett,
chairman of the Centro Comunitario Juan Diego in Chicago.
Under the beating afternoon sun, participants toted signs that read "Guns
Kill" and "No Mas Armas" while speakers prayed for the closure of suburban
gun shops as a way to curb the flow of weapons on area streets.
"As late as Saturday we buried a woman's son," said James Teer, a member of
the Roseland Christian Ministries, who attended the vigil. "They can't buy
guns in Chicago. This is where the guns come from. [Shooters] buy them in
the suburbs and bring them back to the city."
As the crowd sang, " Riverdale officers quietly stood by, asking some of the
participants to stand clear of the shop's door.
The hourlong vigil was organized by several religious and community groups
from Chicago to Goshen, Ind., including the Interfaith Initiative Against
Gun Violence in Chicago; St. Kevin's Church in South Deering; and Centro
Comunitario Juan Diego on Chicago's South Side.
"We came with two school-bus loads of people because we've known of four
families at our center whose children were killed by guns in the last year,"
said Rosa Perea, community organizer for Centro Comunitario Juan Diego.
"It's important to send a message that enough is enough."
The center houses the Arnold Mireles Center for Human Rights, named after
the anti-violence activist who was shot down outside of the Chicago center
nearly three years ago. Mireles' sister, Sonia, attended the vigil.
Chuck's Dolton Gun Shop, like many others in nearby suburbs, has come under
legal and community pressure in recent years.
Last year, the City of Chicago filed a $433 million lawsuit against 12
suburban gun shops, 22 gun manufacturers and four distributors, accusing
them of flooding the city with guns they knew could be used in a crime.
That same year, the federal government followed suit by filing criminal
charges against five suburban gun shops for illegally selling handguns and
semiautomatic weapons last August.
Employees of two of those shops have since been acquitted, while the
corporate owner and two employees of a third shop, B&H Sports in Oak Lawn,
were convicted.
Two other cases are pending trial.
The charges came after undercover Chicago police officers posed as gang
members and allegedly made it clear their purchases were on behalf of
others, in violation of federal law, yet still were able to buy weapons.
Charges were not filed against Chuck's.
But even the youngest protesters Thursday said they would not feel safe as
long as gun sales were allowed.
"I came to stop the gun sales," said Porfirio Serrano, 14, who attended the
vigil with his friends. "I have a friend who saw someone get shot in the
face right in front of her. We could get shot like that by accident while
we're out playing."