This is an article in the Annapolis, MD Capital this afternoon. Someone PLEASE write a letter to the editor to counter this. I just had a letter published so they won't even consider another one from me for at least 30 days.
You may send your letter to the following:
E-mail letters to [email protected] or mail them to:
Letters to the Editor
The Capital
P.O. Box 911
Annapolis, MD 21404
You also may fax letters to us at 410-268-4643.
Area moms join thousands in march for gun control
By WENDI WINTERS, For The Capital
Chris Farland found the perfect spot on a low shaded wall on the west lawn of the Capitol to watch gun-control advocates urge renewal of a federal ban on assault weapons yesterday as she waited for members of her family to join her.
A guidance counselor at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, the Crofton woman decided to join "Halt the Assault" because many of the teenagers she counsels have been affected by gun violence.
One is a paraplegic, permanently injured by a stray bullet that smashed through a window as he sat in his living room.
"I want to make my voice heard," Mrs. Farland said. "The assault gun ban must not expire."
The demonstration, attended by about 2,000 people, was much smaller than the original one, which took place on Mother's Day four years ago.
Speakers reminded the crowd to "Remember November!" as they spoke of the ban, set to expire Sept. 13.
"I say to my fellow lawmakers, 'You should be more afraid of moms going to the ballot booth than the NRA,"' said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Montgomery.
"We are working very hard in Iraq to get AK-47s off the street, to get Uzis off the streets. The president says we're fighting the war on terror by doing that. What about the terror right here on our
streets at home?"
The freshman congressman also decried a provision in the law that critics contend allows owners of legal firearms to replace the housing for the firing mechanism and turn them into illegal assault weapons. He tied the loophole to the October 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington area that killed 10 people.
"We need to close that loophole, because real bullets that killed real people went through those loopholes," Mr. Van Hollen said.
Several women celebrated Mother's Day by taking their children with them to the rally.
Dr. Maggie van Achterberg of Annapolis was carrying her 1-year-old son Seth in her arms as she picked her way through the mostly female crowd.
"As a mother, I'm horrified by the number of gun deaths in America," she said as her son peeled a rally sticker off her shirt. A child psychiatrist, she's currently a stay-at-home mom.
"The NRA is such a bogus organization. It pretends to be a grass-roots organization, but it's just a gun manufacturers' organization whose sole purpose is to raise money for the gun industry at the cost of American lives."
In another tree-shaded section of the lawn, Jennifer Senko of Cape St. Claire, a social worker at Ginger Cove, diapered her toddler son Garrett. Her friend Cassie Carroll of Annapolis, a former social worker, was there with her 1-year-old daughter Avie.
"What better way to spend Mother's Day than trying to ensure the safety of our kids?" said Ms. Senko.
West Annapolis resident Liz Barrett arrived at the rally too late to hear many of the speeches. But when the rally concluded with a march down Constitution Avenue, she found herself walking next to the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
As they strolled, Mrs. Barrett asked him if he had been personally affected by gun violence. Had he lost friends or relatives to guns?
"Yes," he replied softly. "I was just 10 feet from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he was killed. I saw him shot in the neck."---
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Wendi Winters is a freelance writer living on the Broadneck Peninsula.
You may send your letter to the following:
E-mail letters to [email protected] or mail them to:
Letters to the Editor
The Capital
P.O. Box 911
Annapolis, MD 21404
You also may fax letters to us at 410-268-4643.
Area moms join thousands in march for gun control
By WENDI WINTERS, For The Capital
Chris Farland found the perfect spot on a low shaded wall on the west lawn of the Capitol to watch gun-control advocates urge renewal of a federal ban on assault weapons yesterday as she waited for members of her family to join her.
A guidance counselor at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, the Crofton woman decided to join "Halt the Assault" because many of the teenagers she counsels have been affected by gun violence.
One is a paraplegic, permanently injured by a stray bullet that smashed through a window as he sat in his living room.
"I want to make my voice heard," Mrs. Farland said. "The assault gun ban must not expire."
The demonstration, attended by about 2,000 people, was much smaller than the original one, which took place on Mother's Day four years ago.
Speakers reminded the crowd to "Remember November!" as they spoke of the ban, set to expire Sept. 13.
"I say to my fellow lawmakers, 'You should be more afraid of moms going to the ballot booth than the NRA,"' said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Montgomery.
"We are working very hard in Iraq to get AK-47s off the street, to get Uzis off the streets. The president says we're fighting the war on terror by doing that. What about the terror right here on our
streets at home?"
The freshman congressman also decried a provision in the law that critics contend allows owners of legal firearms to replace the housing for the firing mechanism and turn them into illegal assault weapons. He tied the loophole to the October 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington area that killed 10 people.
"We need to close that loophole, because real bullets that killed real people went through those loopholes," Mr. Van Hollen said.
Several women celebrated Mother's Day by taking their children with them to the rally.
Dr. Maggie van Achterberg of Annapolis was carrying her 1-year-old son Seth in her arms as she picked her way through the mostly female crowd.
"As a mother, I'm horrified by the number of gun deaths in America," she said as her son peeled a rally sticker off her shirt. A child psychiatrist, she's currently a stay-at-home mom.
"The NRA is such a bogus organization. It pretends to be a grass-roots organization, but it's just a gun manufacturers' organization whose sole purpose is to raise money for the gun industry at the cost of American lives."
In another tree-shaded section of the lawn, Jennifer Senko of Cape St. Claire, a social worker at Ginger Cove, diapered her toddler son Garrett. Her friend Cassie Carroll of Annapolis, a former social worker, was there with her 1-year-old daughter Avie.
"What better way to spend Mother's Day than trying to ensure the safety of our kids?" said Ms. Senko.
West Annapolis resident Liz Barrett arrived at the rally too late to hear many of the speeches. But when the rally concluded with a march down Constitution Avenue, she found herself walking next to the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
As they strolled, Mrs. Barrett asked him if he had been personally affected by gun violence. Had he lost friends or relatives to guns?
"Yes," he replied softly. "I was just 10 feet from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he was killed. I saw him shot in the neck."---
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Wendi Winters is a freelance writer living on the Broadneck Peninsula.
