A March Ends; a Journey Begins

For anyone who thinks last Sunday’s Million Mom March was a one-day phenomenon, a feel-good rally, a Mother’s Day picnic that ended once the last strollers were packed aboard cars, buses and planes, consider this:

On the very next day, when march organizers and participants could reasonably be expected to collapse, a group from the San Fernando Valley hustled over to the Capitol to try to talk “common-sense” gun legislation with Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita).

The conservative congressman wasn’t in. And even if he had been, judging from his record, he would have been a hard sell. But the Valley mothers and their allies vow to try again--and again.

The march, which drew an estimated 500,000 to 750,000 people to Washington, D.C., and thousands more to rallies in cities across the country, was only the beginning of their campaign to require trigger locks, handgun registration and licensing, limits on ammunition purchases and other sensible gun laws.

“All of us left [Washington] feeling empowered,” said Terri Jonisch, a Northridge resident and a member of the North Valley Jewish Community Center, site of the Aug. 10, 1999, shooting rampage that inspired Sunday’s march.

About 30 moms, dads and kids from the center joined the throngs on the National Mall last week. They held hands in a daisy-chain, echoing the infamous image of toddlers being led from the day camp by police officers. They marched behind a banner proclaiming the center’s name, signed by members back home and supporters from all over the country.

At the sight of the banner, the huge crowd parted--like the Red Sea, Jonisch said--waving the group on to a place of honor at the head of the march.

“To have people hug us and thank us for coming--it was something none of us had expected. It was healing,” said Jonisch. “If the people of the Valley could have seen how the crowd opened up to let us through, they would understand what an impact the North Valley Jewish Community Center had on this country.”

Next week, Los Angeles marchers will gather once again at the center and plan what to do next. They intend to keep having an impact. Don’t doubt that they will.