Mothers join forces in

By Linh Tat

Daily Bruin Staff

Flowers from their children weren’t enough.

About 3,000 women converged upon the Federal Building on Sunday
to demand a more serious gift from the government ““ stricter
gun control laws ““ as part of the national “Million Mom
March 2000.”

While the mothers advocated for new gun control laws during the
march from Glendon Avenue to the Federal Building, about 400
counter-protesters standing between Veteran Avenue and Sepulveda
Boulevard held up signs opposing stricter laws.

“The majority of people are opposed to gun
violence,” said Robin Brandes-Gibbs, a member of the National
Council of Jewish Women, who took part in the Million Mom March.
“Moms feel it most strongly when their children are
killed.”

Among the issues advocated were safety locks on guns and
regulated firearms.

But not everyone agreed with the marchers.

“Gun control increases violent crimes,” said Randall
Herrst, president of the Center for the Study of Crime, as he stood
among a crowd ““ organized by the Second Amendment Sisters
““ waving signs stating that guns protect women and
children.

“It shifts the balance of power to criminals. It’s
going to cost many more lives than they save,” he said.

Speakers addressed the crowd around 10 a.m. and marchers ““
wearing buttons that read “I’m one in a million”
““ began the march down the street around 11 a.m. Similar
marches took place around the country Sunday, including a rally at
the nation’s capitol.

The Westwood march drew about 50 law enforcement officers from
the Los Angeles Police Department, Sheriff’s Department,
California Highway Patrol and the federal police. It ended without
any violent eruptions or arrests, said Charles Conyers, a security
officer for the Federal Building.

Ten city officials, including Los Angeles City Attorney Jim Hahn
and District Attorney Gil Garcetti, came out for the event, and
some read the names of the 143 children in the county killed by
guns last year.

“We want sensible gun laws,” said Joy Turner, a
marcher with Women Against Gun Violence, who lost her child from a
gunshot. “Current laws aren’t working, which means (the
government) is not applying them. We need to either reinforce the
laws or create new ones.”

“This is the only thing that was made to kill that is not
regulated,” Turner said of guns.

Joining the march was Bernice Lieberman, kindergarten director
of the North Valley Jewish Community Center, which drew national
attention in August when a gunman opened fire on it and injured
five people.

“No one is ever going to walk into a center again and
unload 78 rounds of ammunition,” Lieberman told the
Associated Press. “We, the moms of this country, won’t
allow it.”

The Million Mom March was organized by a mother of two in New
Jersey in response to the shooting.

But Herrst, a member of the National Rifle Association, said the
issues advocated by the marchers are counterproductive. Citing a
1986 criminal survey, Herrst said that criminals fear armed
citizens more than they do the police.

Many of the counter-protesters said that guns allow women to
protect themselves.

“Women have been led to believe for decades that they
can’t protect themselves and that they need to rely on a
man,” said David Rys. “These women know
differently,” he said of the women who said they own
guns.

Herrst said proposals to have “smart guns” created
to recognize only the fingerprints of the gun owner in order for it
to work is unreliable, since computerized technology is constantly
breaking down.

“The absolute solution is allowing decent citizens who
pass a background check to carry guns in public,” Herrst
said.

With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.