Million Mom March
Encyclopedia
The Million Mom March was a rally on Mother's Day
, Sunday, May 14, 2000, designed to promote tighter restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of kids and criminals. Supporters claimed that 750,000 people gathered on the National Mall
. Supporters of the event also claimed 150,000 to 200,000 people across the country held sympathy marches.
A counter-rally by the pro-gun Second Amendment Sisters
, was also held on the same day.
The Million Mom March had its roots in August 1999, when New Jersey resident Donna Dees-Thomases saw broadcast coverage of the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting rampage in Granada Hills, California. Dees-Thomases decided a week later to apply for a permit to march on Washington and protest the lack of "meaningful gun laws" in America. In September 1999, she was joined by 25 Tri-State mothers at a news conference in Manhattan, and announced that a grassroots movement of mothers called the "Million Mom March" would march on Washington. CBS News
, ABC News
, NBC News
, The Today Show, Good Morning
America, The Oprah Winfrey Show
, The Rosie O'Donnell Show
, MSNBC
, CNN
, Fox News and other major network TV news organizations covered the march and counter-march extensively.
The group Donna Dees-Thomases founded stated their beliefs as:
The organization is opposed to various semi-automatic firearm
s being legal and is opposed to the agenda of the National Rifle Association
and other gun rights and sportsmen's groups. Since 2001 they have been affiliated with the Brady Campaign
to Prevent Gun Violence. The Million Mom March, which started as one of the largest protest marches on Washington, presently has a national network of 75 local chapters around the U.S...
Even though the 2000 march may have approached the 1 million mark when events in other cities were taken into account, the enthusiasm didn't last long. According to a Reuters account of the 2001 Million Mom March event, barely 200 people showed up for the Washington rally.
The group didn't plan demonstrations in Washington in 2002 or 2003, instead focusing its efforts in other states. The 2004 rally has been in the works since May 2003, according to the Million Mom March website.
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
, Sunday, May 14, 2000, designed to promote tighter restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of kids and criminals. Supporters claimed that 750,000 people gathered on the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
. Supporters of the event also claimed 150,000 to 200,000 people across the country held sympathy marches.
A counter-rally by the pro-gun Second Amendment Sisters
Second Amendment Sisters
Second Amendment Sisters, Inc. is a non-partisan women's advocacy group in the United States dedicated to the protection of gun rights, specifically for the purpose of self defense...
, was also held on the same day.
The Million Mom March had its roots in August 1999, when New Jersey resident Donna Dees-Thomases saw broadcast coverage of the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting rampage in Granada Hills, California. Dees-Thomases decided a week later to apply for a permit to march on Washington and protest the lack of "meaningful gun laws" in America. In September 1999, she was joined by 25 Tri-State mothers at a news conference in Manhattan, and announced that a grassroots movement of mothers called the "Million Mom March" would march on Washington. CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
, ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
, The Today Show, Good Morning
America, The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, The Rosie O'Donnell Show
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
The Rosie O'Donnell Show is an Emmy Award-winning American daytime television talk show hosted and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It aired for six seasons from 1996 to 2002...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Fox News and other major network TV news organizations covered the march and counter-march extensively.
Background
Following the event, the Million Mom March participants became a chapter-based organization to promote restrictions on the private ownership of firearms in state legislatures, merging with a victim led organization called the Bell Campaign, but keeping the name Million Mom March as the new organization.The group Donna Dees-Thomases founded stated their beliefs as:
"All Americans have the right to be safe from gun violenceGun violenceGun violence defined literally means the use of a firearm to threaten or inflict violence or harm. Gun violence may be broadly defined as a category of violence and crime committed with the use of a firearm; it may or may not include actions ruled as self-defense, actions for law enforcement, or...
in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, and places of work and worship. All children have the right to grow up in environments free from the threat of gun violence. Gun violence is a public health crisis that harms not only the physical, but also the spiritual, social, and economic health of our families and communities. The availability and lethality of guns make death or severe injury more likely in domestic violence, criminal activity, suicide attempts, and unintentional shootings. It is possible to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by gun violence with reasonable, common sense policy."
The organization is opposed to various semi-automatic firearm
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
s being legal and is opposed to the agenda of the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
and other gun rights and sportsmen's groups. Since 2001 they have been affiliated with the Brady Campaign
Brady Campaign
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence are affiliated non-profit organizations in the United States. They are named after James Brady who was permanently disabled as a result of an assassination attempt on U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
to Prevent Gun Violence. The Million Mom March, which started as one of the largest protest marches on Washington, presently has a national network of 75 local chapters around the U.S...
Even though the 2000 march may have approached the 1 million mark when events in other cities were taken into account, the enthusiasm didn't last long. According to a Reuters account of the 2001 Million Mom March event, barely 200 people showed up for the Washington rally.
The group didn't plan demonstrations in Washington in 2002 or 2003, instead focusing its efforts in other states. The 2004 rally has been in the works since May 2003, according to the Million Mom March website.
See also
- Culture wars
- Gun politics in the United StatesGun politics in the United StatesGun politics in the United States refers to an ongoing political and social debate regarding both the restriction and availability of firearms within the United States. It has long been among the most controversial and intractable issues in American politics...
- Million Man MarchMillion Man MarchThe Million Man March was a gathering of social activists, en masse, held on and around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 1995...
, African American march of protest and unity - Millions More MovementMillions More MovementThe Millions More Movement was launched by a broad coalition of African American leaders to mark the commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Million Man March. A mass march on Washington, DC, was held on October 15, 2005, to galvanize public support for the movement's goals...
, launched by a broad coalition of Black leaders to mark the commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the historic Million Man March. - Million Worker MarchMillion Worker MarchThe Million Worker March was a rally against perceived attacks upon working families in America and what organizers described as millions of jobs lost during the Bush administration with the complicity of the Congress of the United States....
, response to alleged attacks upon working families in America and the millions of jobs lost during the Bush administration with the complicity of Congress - List of protest marches on Washington, DC