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Local concerned mothers and other residents say that
it’s too easy to obtain handguns in the United States — and
they don’t like it.
The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence will
stage a civil protest at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Municipal Center
walkway and fountain to raise awareness of lax gun laws and to honor the
victims of April’s Virginia Tech massacre. Thirty-two protesters, each symbolizing one of the
murdered students or teachers, will don black and lie on the ground for 30
minutes to signify the amount of time it takes to purchase a firearm. Event
organizer Christopher Boyster hopes that the gesture will encourage public
officials to help prevent such tragedies. “It’s time to stand up and do the right
thing — to let lawmakers and policymakers know that this is beyond a
gun-violence issue or a gun-rights issue,” Boyster says. “This
is a life issue.”
Springfield’s first-time event was inspired by
similar grassroots protests across the country, Boyster says, including an
initial protest held in Alexandria, Va. It will also coincide with the
National Day of Protest Against Illegal Guns, held on Aug. 28 to
commemorate the anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963. Boyster hopes that the protest will also affect local
citizens who have become numb to news of shootings and murders.
“We need to bring attention to this, and we
need not be passive,” Boyster says. “We need to start putting
our finger on the place in the newspaper, turning up the television and the
radio, and say, ‘This is in my community, and I don’t like
it.’
“This is an opportunity for people to say that
and to come together to see what can be done.”
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2007.
