Fifteen years ago, I helped to organize a 60-member St. Louis delegation attending the historic Million Mom March in Washington, D.C. on Mother’s Day.
The march, instigated by a New York mother after the Columbine and Granada Hills mass shootings, galvanized survivors, families, physicians, law enforcement, clergy, celebrities and elected officials, including President Bill Clinton. On that Mother’s Day, over 750,000 people from almost every state (as well as several other countries) showed up at the U.S. capital, with rallies in 70 other cities at the same time. Over one million people on May 14, 2000 demanded that Congress do something about gun violence.
Inner city parents, emergency room physicians and Robert F. Kennedy’s daughters were among those who spoke of loss. Hundreds of thousands of us were told to go back home and determinedly work to pass policies to save lives.
Senseless gun violence was out of control in our cities in 2000. Losing 10 children a day then to gun violence was unacceptable.
Today?
Nine children continue to be shot every day in the United States. Twenty first graders and six educators were gunned down in their grade school, yet Congress turned a blind eye and did absolutely nothing. Over 100 school and university shootings have since occurred. In Missouri, gun deaths have outpaced automobile deaths three years in a row, while St. Louis and Kansas City rank among the top 10 cities in the U.S. in gun murders.
Like a surreal movie, the rate of gun violence has continued to explode in our own metropolitan area. Yet many remain numb to the everyday media reports because we’ve succumbed to the gun lobby influence or we believe it doesn’t affect our neighborhood or families … yet.
Voters last November amended our state constitution giving felons more gun rights, hamstringing prosecutors and allowing criminals back on the street. Our state Legislature every year focuses on increasing firearm access, rather than protecting people. A few weeks ago the state House debated expanding our “Castle Doctrine/Shoot to Kill” law while bills ensuring background checks for all gun sales (supported by over 80 percent of Missourians) and removing guns from domestic abusers are completely ignored.
There is absolutely no appetite by the GOP leadership in the state capital to do anything about the violence. They blame lack of jobs, extreme poverty, inadequate schools and spout NRA “gun rights” talking points while backing gun interests.
As a mother I felt optimistic 15 years ago that we could stop the horror of burying our children before their time. Yet today it’s easy to despair that nothing will change, as few in Jefferson City even bother to stand up in debate for those who are slaughtered by guns.
I cannot accept this. I cannot stand by and let just survivors do the tireless work in order to prevent the rest of us from an unimaginable lifetime of pain. That is why I keep working with like-minded legislators here in Missouri and in other states, along with mayors, police chiefs and prosecutors. I cannot be silent as more mothers and fathers join that awful club of grief.
