Moms Call March a Turning Point

Terri Jonisch and about 30 other San Fernando Valley mothers arrived in Washington, D.C., last weekend wearing North Valley Jewish Community Center T-shirts and carrying a 20-foot banner.

They saw a big crowd at the Million Mom March and thought they would never make it to the front of the White House, they said.

But soon, people glanced at their banner and T-shirts and “it was like the sea opened up,” Jonisch said. “They just let us right through.”

They walked, holding hands, and heard people yelling, “Glad you are here.”

Jonisch and other mothers, including Karyn Miller, Sue Bierman, Nancy Parris Moskowitz and Loren Lieb--whose child was injured during the Aug. 10 community center shooting--said they will remember this Mother’s Day as the day American moms fought back for stricter gun control, including gun registration and background checks.

“We are not saying we should get rid of guns. That is never going to happen,” Jonisch said. “We just don’t want children to have access to guns. We want safety for our children.”

Upon their return from Washington, the Valley women reflected on why it took an attack allegedly by a self-described racist on a middle-class area for people to be spurred into action.

“Children had been victims of gun violence long before this, in South-Central, East Los Angeles, but it had to happen in the suburbs for people to wake up,” Jonisch said.

With the march, the Valley women said they hoped at least to raise awareness and prompt people to demand gun control at the local, state and national level.

“We hope one day we would live without the need to have armed security guards to protect ourselves,” said Miller, a member of the center’s board of directors.

“The shooting here really sparked the whole creation of the march, but we were fortunate. We did not lose a loved one,” Lieb said.

About a dozen children die every day nationwide as a result of gun violence, according to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, a partnership of 40 religious, labor, medical and educational organizations nationwide.

“We have regulations for medication and automobiles, yet when it comes to having a gun, a lethal weapon, there are [a lack of] parameters,” Parris Moskowitz said.

Others say they share the moms’ drive for justice and safety, but do not think law-abiding gun owners should suffer the consequences.

“As an individual, I’m disheartened by the abuse of statistics,” said Tony Canales, a gun owner and member of San Fernando Valley NRA Members’ Council--a group of gun owners working to preserve the right to keep and bear arms. “There are sick people out there. Why do we need guns? To defend ourselves. We have to look for ways to protect our homes and loved ones.”

At the end, the moms have one simple message, Jonisch said.

“Don’t mess with moms. We mean business,” she said.