[Vision2020] Gun Talk

Sat Feb 2 11:58:50 PST 2013

How's this for some of them "disingenuous proponents of the ban riding the 'think of the children'"wave, Mr. Rumelhart . . . 

Courtesy of the Newtown (Connecticut) Bee at :

http://tinyurl.com/agquvl5

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Local Residents March On Washington For Gun Control

Representatives of Newtown and Sandy Hook hold high signs expressing desire for change in gun laws, prior to the start of the March on Washington for Gun Control, Saturday morning, January 26. —Bee Photos, Crevier
In the biting cold of 4 am, with a nearly full moon still high in the dark January 26 sky, 52 residents of Newtown, Sandy Hook, and area towns filed onto a bus parked at the Routes 25/111 commuter lot in Trumbull. Bearing posters with slogans like "One gun death = too many! 10,000 = national disgrace," "Don't Fund Your Retirement with Blood Profits!" and "Newtown Demands Action! We Choose Love," carrying pillows, blankets, and thermoses full of hot coffee, the riders were headed to the March on Washington for Gun Control.

Fifty-two is not a large number, but considering the fact that he had only begun to promote the idea of bringing a group to the march as of early last week, local organizer Dave Ackert saw it as a leap of faith fulfilled.

"We had heard of marches maybe happening, and we said if [a Newtown group] goes to Washington, that's what we should do," said Mr Ackert's wife, Eve, who along with her daughter was aboard the early morning bus to Washington.

"There are so many things I can't do, but this is something I can do. I can't make my neighbors' children feel better," said Ms Ackert, who lives in an area of Sandy Hook impacted directly by the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 12/14. "[Supporting] a ban on assault weapons just seems a common sense thing," she said.

The March on Washington for Gun Control was organized over the past month by Washington, D.C., artistic director Molly Smith and Native American activist Suzanne Blue Star Boy, two women who say they are tired of gun violence that does not stop.

Those on the bus ride Saturday morning were also fed up and hoping they could make it known that they were ready for a change.

"I had to do something [after the shootings at SHS]," said Sharon Poarch, adding that she has never before taken part in a rally for change. "Even my 17-year-old said, 'Wow, Mom. That's not like you,'" she said.

Beatriz Delgado traveled from Norwalk to ride to Washington.

"I was really upset and had to do something," said Ms Delgado, the mother of two young children. A citizen of Spain before moving to the United States ten years ago, she felt positive about the outcome of the day.

"In America, everything is possible. We come together to show everybody what we want to attain. The way government listens is amazing. Here, we all go together to say what we want," Ms Delgado said.

"I wanted to come to say, 'We're with you.' This could happen anywhere," said Dave Pettinicchi of Trumbull, who traveled with his daughter, Ana, a senior at Trumbull High School. Mary Sherlach, an adult victim of 12/14, was known to him from his church, he said.

Ms Smith and Ms Blue Star Boy invited people nationwide to come to Washington to let politicians know that changes in gun laws are needed and wanted. They were thrilled, they told Mr Ackert last week, to have residents of Sandy Hook and Newtown join in, and granted hometown participants VIP status.

At least an equal number of Newtown and Sandy Hook supporters who came to Washington independently of the bus trip joined up with the bus riders at the starting point for the rally. Stamping feet against the cold, and selecting posters to carry, with names of gun violence victims from Sandy Hook and other places in the nation imprinted upon them, the marchers peered from their privately cordoned off area across to the adjacent area where thousands more supporters clustered around sections designated for people affiliated with theater, pastoral care, and for those who had traveled from other states.

"I work in the mental health field," said Joan Huskins of Sandy Hook, as to why she had accompanied the group to Washington. "It's not just about gun control, but about mental health; about making [mental health care] accessible to everyone, for prevention and treatment. I think gun control and mental health need to be addressed hand in hand," said Ms Huskins.

A recently retired professor from Manhattanville College, Tony Scimone of Trumbull was on the bus for his own reasons. "When I think about all the great things that happen in a classroom contrasted with this [tragedy at SHS], I think we have to make our voices heard," said Mr Scimone.

Ann Dalton is district nursing supervisor for Newtown schools. She contacted all of the nurses in the school system, and found "resounding support for me to attend," she said, with all in agreement for a ban on assault weapons. Ms Dalton brought with her a poster that read, "Newtown Nurses For Safe Gun Laws."

Katie and Andrew Morosky of Newtown and their daughters Pearl, 9, and Marie Therese, 6, drove to Washington to support the march. SHS shooting victim Lauren Rousseau had substituted for their children at Hawley School, said Ms Morosky. Both of the girls knew shooting victims through involvement in church, dance, and soccer.

"My immediate reaction [on hearing about the march] was that we have to go to Washington," she said.

"When Obama got elected, I said, 'I hope he does something to ban high capacity magazines,' and that was even before this happened in Sandy Hook," she said. The march, Ms Morosky said, was "a little more visible sign of the pain we are experiencing in Newtown."

Jan and Jeff Neuner of Bethel were also among the chilled but determined marchers waiting for the 11 o'clock march start time.

"It's time to take action," said Mr Neuner. "I couldn't just shrug my shoulders. I think this is the first step of many," he said.

Members of the media jostled with each other to speak to Sandy Hook marchers, and to interview Ms Smith and Ms Blue Star Boy as the women circulated through the crowd.

At precisely 11 am, the announcement came to begin the march, and guided by rope-bearing escorts who kept them in and other marchers out, the Sandy Hook/Newtown participants led the nearly 6,000 marchers down Constitution Avenue toward the Washington Monument.

There, local people were granted special front-row seating to hear speakers and musicians address the cause of the day: legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban, ban high capacity ammunition magazines, and require background checks for all gun sales, for Congress to enforce a 28-day waiting period, require mandatory gun safety training before the purchase of a gun, and outlaw bullets that shatter in the body.

"A Spiritual And Moral Issue"

The pale winter sun peaked in and out of gray skies, and flocks of swallows swooped overhead, synchronized, it seemed, to the sound of voices raised in song that greeted the marchers. Strains of "America" and John Lennon's "Imagine" wove their ways through the people with posters standing hip to hip behind the rows of seated guests.

Speaking first, Ms Smith noted that the reasons people were gathered together at the event was "a spiritual and moral issue." The fight for legislation desired would be difficult, "but we will prevail," emphasized Ms Smith, listing the many changes in attitudes and legislation that have been conquered in past decades. "This wave will become an ocean," said Ms Smith.

"We are happy to have the Newtown contingent with us," said Ms Blue Star Boy. "We are standing before you," she said, "because of America's heartbreak at what happened at Sandy Hook."

First of the invited speakers to take the podium was D.C. Mayor Vince Gray. In the style of a fire and brimstone preacher, Mayor Gray urged the crowd to work to prevent access to guns in ways that should not be allowed.

"D.C. has been a leader on gun control for years. We cannot allow passive gun laws to threaten our neighborhoods." Gun control, said Mayor Gray, touches the lives of everybody. He said that national action on gun control is vital, and that because local and state laws differ, "Guns find their way into areas that do have stringent gun control laws.

"We have the strength of belief," he said. "We will honor our departed."

"We are here as respecters of the Second Amendment," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, among the speakers addressing the crowd.

"This is about gun responsibility and gun safety. It is about fewer children living in fear," he said. "Thank you for your advocacy and passion. This is a starting point," Mr Duncan stressed, referring to the day's March on Washington, and brought the crowd to its feet, clapping, as he emphasized, "We must act! We must act! We must act!"

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Marchers representing Newtown and Sandy Hook led the crowd of 6,000 marchers down Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC, from the Capitol area to the Washington Monument, where speakers rallied the crowd to make that day’s march the beginning of a movement to change gun laws and stop gun violence in America.

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Washington, D.C. Delegate to Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton tells listeners at the March on Washington for Gun Control, Saturday, January 26, in the Capitol city, "No more moaning. It's time to do something," raising chants of "Yes we can!" from participants. More than 100 people in the crowd of over 6,000 were in a group representing Newtown and Sandy Hook.

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Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"There's room at the top they are telling you still 
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill 
If you want to be like the folks on the hill."

- John Lennon

Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"There's room at the top they are telling you still 
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill 
If you want to be like the folks on the hill."

- John Lennon

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