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Mothers' Day March
but what about breakast in bed?
Mother’s Day March; but what about breakfast in bed? by Alison van Diggelen Very best wishes to you for a wonderful Mother’s Day on May 14th! It’s a day to celebrate our mothers, the gifts they’ve given us; their support; and their unconditional love. Yet it’s also a time to think about life, our kids’ lives and how precious they are to us moms. When I was growing up in Scotland, guns at school were unheard of. In Scotland, your average citizen simply does not own a gun. It shocked me when I first arrived in the States eight years ago to hear of daily gun violence, especially against school kids, but somehow I felt apart from the violence. It happened to “other people”. I vaguely accepted that it was part of contemporary American life, perhaps the price we pay for so-called “freedom” and economic prosperity. It was something that would never happen in Scotland, or so I thought. Then one morning in 1995 my heart stopped. I’d recently given birth to my first child. The NPR report described the slaughter of elementary school children in Dunblane, Scotland, a sleepy little town not far from the capital city. Suddenly I felt it could have been me, my son. As moms, the existence of gun violence and children’s’ gun deaths are so abhorrent we just shut it out of our lives, perhaps even deny it. Since Dunblane, I’ve shed tears over news reports showing bereaved mothers and traumatized children who just survived gun massacres. I’ve ranted and riled against guns in the safe confines of my home and prayed for an end to the killings. Yet have I done anything concrete about it? No. Now finally there is something I can do. Donna Dees-Thomases had a similar epiphany when she saw the gun massacre in the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, California. Yet, she did do something about it. She had a vision of a million moms marching to the Capitol, in D.C. united in the fight for sensible gun laws and safe kids. The Million Mom March is asking for common sense legislation, more safety features on guns and more background checks and mandatory locks on handguns. I think they should go much further. After the Dunblane incident, the British government passed severe gun control legislation, virtually banning all guns and as far as I am aware, Dunblane exists as a unique horrific lesson in British school kids history. What will it take for this wonderful country to be sufficiently outraged and make the politicians listen? What if most guns were removed from circulation? Some say, how could we “protect” ourselves? Statistics for 1996 tell a sobering tale. In America, there were 9,300 handgun deaths (adults and children) compared to 30 in Britain. The reason? Guns are generally not available in Britain. The issue is not that America is more violent than other countries; the Celts for example still have their ancient fighting spirit (witness the European soccer atrocities in recent years). Guns are simply more available in the States. Every day, twelve kids die from guns in America. Time Magazine states “gun deaths have fallen, tumbling 28% from 1994 to 1997, when 4,223 kids died by gunshot,” as though this trend was sufficient evidence to do nothing. I say that’s 4,223 kids too many. Every year in California there are more kids killed by handguns than car crashes, disease and drugs. We’ve all had our moments of rage, whether it’s on the road, against an injustice, a loved one or merely directed at the vacuum cleaner. What if you’d had a gun in your hand in that moment of blind rage? I think it’s time that we, as mothers, should stop living in denial; stop praying that it doesn’t happen to our children, our friends’ children, in our neighborhood. Last year’s headlines have shown it can happen anywhere in America, irrespective of affluence, irrespective of ethnicity. As mothers, life is the greatest gift we have given our children, we should actively protect those lives. We should strive for a day when guns and children are not uttered in the same sentence. Stand up for what we love and cherish, be part of the Million Mom March. I’m going to the Watsonville march and rally this Sunday, hope to see you there. Maybe we’ll do the breakfast in bed thing later in the day…. © siliconmom.com For further information Website: www.millionmommarch.com For local marches info: click on Local information, scroll to your state In Silicon Valley area there are three marches on May 14 1. Oakland, Lake Merritt Bandstand, 1-3pm Organizer: Janet email: mmmsfbayarea@yahoo.com or janetconn@yahoo.com 2. Watsonville Town Plaza, 9 am to 12 pm Organizer: Beth Kotkin email: bktkn@cruzio.com This march honors those we have lost and the moms they have left behind. It is the third annual Mother’s Day March in Watsonville after the drive-by shootings of Jessica Cortez and her brother, Jorge (9 and 16 years respectively) in Pajaro, near Watsonville. 3. Sacramento, Tower Bridge, Capitol Mall, West steps of Capitol, 2pm Organizer Carol email: chann@hci-cphv.org This one is dedicated to Rita Norris whose son Chad died from gun violence. Please check with organizers for last minute changes before you go!
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