Moms Speak Out For More Gun Control

By Steve Bigham

Katy Berg remembers the three days she spent at Woodstock back in the summer of 1969. The music was inspiring. More importantly, however, she believes it was the fact that so many people were able to harmoniously live and breathe together that changed her life forever.

The Newtown resident had a similar experience this past Sunday as she joined thousands of others in Washington, DC, for the Million Mom March. An estimated 750,000 mothers, fathers, and children converged on the Mall to say “enough is enough” to the gun lobby. Those on hand were not necessarily opposed to firearms, they just wanted “sensible” gun laws that protect children.

“I feel re-charged. I’m enthusiastic that there is a strong vocal group of people who say we have had enough,” Mrs Berg said Monday, just hours after returning from the nation’s capital.

Her friend Kim Schmitt, also from Newtown, returned with the same good feeling.

“It was the good intentions of the crowd that was so heartfelt. Crowds can be awful, but these two crowds were symbiotic,” she said.

The two friends boarded a bus at 2 am Sunday and headed to the nation’s capital. They arrived at 9 am and by 11 am were shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of other mothers. By 11:30 am, the crowd was so dense they could hardly walk. Fortunately, Washington’s notorious humidity took a day off, giving way to a cool breeze. Like many others, the two Newtown residents sacrificed a day with their families to take on the cause.

“I think what was so uplifting was that there were so many people who gave up Mother’s Day to march in Washington,” Mrs Berg said.

Newtown resident Charlotte Warren headed to Washington in the hopes that she too could make a difference. She came home energized, feeling like she could paint her house in a day. In her opinion, there are far too many guns available and the purchaser is not screened properly. Too often, she says, guns are getting into the hands of the wrong people. Nevertheless, she did not leave Sunday’s march with a feeling of anger. Instead, it was one of hope.

“You got the feeling we weren’t so much anti, but pro,” she said Tuesday.

“Exactly,” Mrs Schmitt agreed. “You don’t want one more child to die from a gun. It’s that simple.”

The mission of the march was to take on the “powerful, heavily financed cultural and political juggernaut” of the gun lobby. According to march organizers, these groups justify misuse of guns by making references to freedom, liberty, and the American Dream. Mothers had been calling on Congress to enact common sense gun control legislation by Mother’s Day 2000. The march in Washington, organizers said, would either celebrate sensible legislation or protest bipartisan ineptitude.

“We’re not in this for political reasons. It’s purely personal,” noted Newtown resident Aggie Dalton, who worked tirelessly in recent months to recruit local people to join her in the march. Her work, as well as others’, turned the event into something which many believe will have historical significance.

“Some people make history without knowing it, but I felt we were making history right there and then. That may have been the point that turned the tide,” Mrs Berg said.

Of course, the impact of this march may take years to be felt as legislators continue to struggle with “doing the right thing” versus receiving huge campaign contributions that help them get re-elected. Eventually, however, the voices of mothers nationwide will have to be heard, Mrs Warren said.

“There’s something special about having that freedom where you can stand in front of the government and tell them how you feel,” said Mrs Schmitt, who is the mother of three children, ages 16, 13, and six.

The brainchild of Sunday’s event was New Jersey mom Donna Dees Thomases, who became fed up with all the violence and decided to take a more pro-active stance. She managed to get a permit for the march never knowing she had started something colossal.

“This is just the beginning,” noted Mrs Berg. “We formed the bond on Sunday. That’s something that will always be there.”