Gun-control advocates rally for new laws in Columbus, Ohio

Photos Courtesy of Jennifer Schaaf Osbeck, http://jojophotoandfilm.com/

They’re all our children (victims of gun violence) …
too many times, people forget about these shootings or they become number
or they move on to something else …

— Shannon Watts, Founder,
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In America

By Dan Gearino | The Columbus Dispatch

Scores of gun-control advocates rallied outside of Columbus City Hall today while a few opponents paced on a nearby sidewalk with rifles slung on their shoulders.

In his speech, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman singled out one of the protestors who was carrying a flag along with a rifle, saying the man has probably never “had a child struck down by a bullet from an assault weapon.”

The rally, sponsored by the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence and a national group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, drew more than 200 people. Organizers said they are trying to keep the need for gun control in the public’s consciousness following the December shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. They support President Barack Obama’s call for a series of new laws, including mandatory background checks before buying any firearm.

“I am not a politician; I am just a mom from Indiana,” said Shannon Watts, who founded Moms Demand Action following the Newtown shooting. “I’m an accidental activist.”

Her group was called One Million Moms for Gun Control until it changed its name in the last few days. It has about 80,000 members and 80 chapters, she said.

Also speaking were U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, city and state elected officials, and several people who have been injured for had loved ones hurt or killed in gun-related incidents.

Read the entire story at dispatch.com