Saturday
more than 50,000 people attended the March for Our Lives flagship event in
Washington, D.C. Many
thousands more marched in big cities like Chicago and Los
Angeles. And in every corner
of the country there were local events in cities including gun crime
ridden urban neighborhoods, towns, villages, and suburbs. If there is a War on Guns it was a broad
front offensive against the NRA, gun manufactures and importers,
and bought-and-paid-for politicians.
And the local skirmish in McHenry County played out along
a stretch of U.S. Route 14 in Crystal Lake.
The
March for Our Lives rallies came less than a month after 10 people were killed
in the racist attack at a Buffalo, New York supermarket and
19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary
school in Uvalde, Texas.
There has been a rash of other less deadly but just as tragic mass shootings
in recent weeks and floods of high powered weapons fuel the gang
wars and car jackings bleeding our cities daily.
March
for Our Lives was formed in 2018 after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 14
students and three adults were killed. Organizers estimated a million people,
mostly young, joined protests then. Although
damn little progress was made on the Federal level because of Republican
control of Congress and the Orange Autocrat in the White
House, some state legislatures, including Florida were forced
to enact reforms. A follow-up March
to the Polls help unseat enough gun violence enablers to swing the
House of Representatives Democratic and contributed to the victory
of President Joe Biden over the Massacre Menace.
The Washington
event this year featured gut-wrenching testimony from family members of the
Buffalo, Uvalde, and Parkland massacres.
It also heard from two the Parkland survivor leaders of March for
Our Lives—David Hogg and X González. Hogg has become an expert organizer and an articulate
advocate for the cause. He emphasizes
election participation to move the needle on comprehensive
reform.
González, formerly known
as Emma, adopted her new name because she does not want people to make assumptions
about her identity and “does not consider myself a girl.” She has also studied to become an effective
radical activist at New College of Florida in Sarasota. She now considers herself a “violence interrupter.”
But at Saturday’s march, her rage
boiled over at Congress.
I’ve spent these
past four years doing my best to keep my rage in check. To keep my profanity at
a minimum so everyone can understand and appreciate the arguments I’m trying to
make, but I have reached my fucking limit. We are being murdered. Cursing will
not rob us of our innocence.
You say that children are the future, and you never listen to what we say once we’re old enough to disagree with you, you decaying degenerates. You really want to protect children, pass some fucking gun laws…
Things
were not that pointed in Crystal Lake, but then most of us have as yet
been personally insulated from the carnage even as we sympathize
with the victims. But folks
were determined and motivated.
About 150 stretched out for over a block carrying signs in
a two-hour roadside vigil. There
might have been more, but organizers were cautious about wide-spread
publicity to avoid possible confrontations with counter
demonstrators. They relied on members
and friends of the sponsoring organizations—Standing Up
Against Racism Woodstock, McHenry County NOW, and Together We
Stand McHenry County.
Vigilers may have skewed
older than some events—no local youth group was involved in the planning
and organization—but there were younger families and children. Members of several churches were on
hand. I noted folks from First
Congregationalist in Crystal Lake, Ridgefield-Crystal Lake
Presbyterian, local Catholic parishes, and Willow Crystal Lake. I am sure there were others.
Teachers were well represented. A knot of them standing near me attracted the attention of a reporter from the Northwest Herald who featured them in his coverage of the event.
Although
the event was officially non-partisan, several Democratic Party
officeholders and/or candidates were on hand. Hardly surprising since Republicans are
pretty much united in abetting gun profiteers and the
frequently right wing ideological extremists who are often the perpetrators
of deadly assaults. Retiring
McHenry County Board Democratic Dean Paula Yensen, who is also President of
the NOW chapter, and retiring Board member Kelli Wegener were
there along with incumbents running for reelection Michael
Vijuk and John Collins. Old friend
and fellow Tree of Life member Gloria Van Hof who is running for a seat
was also there. I also spotted Brian
Meyers, Democratic Candidate for State Representative of the 63rd
District and McHenry Township Assessor Mary Mahady who is running
for County Clerk. There were
likely others.
Current Representative
for the 14th Congressional District who is locally very popular but
has been redistricted out of McHenry County sent a staffer. But the star of the event was Congressman
Bill Foster whose re-drawn district now encompasses a big chunk of
southern McHenry County. He stopped by
to offer encouraging and supportive through an inadequate small bullhorn,
but unlike many busy pols hot on the campaign trail, stayed for the rest
of the event—almost two hours. He slowly
worked his way down the line of folks holding signs but did not just shake
hands and move on. He engaged almost
everyone in serious conversations, heard their stories and
concerns, and asked probing questions. For instance, when he talked to Tree of Life’s
Dr. Lisa Messinger, a pediatrician, he listened carefully to her advocacy
of Medicare for All, although he has so far supported the more piecemeal
reform of the current Affordable Care Act (ACA) and heard her concerns
for healthcare access for children and for reforms to school
lunch programs to offer tasty foods that children will actually
eat to combat obesity.
Response
from motorists was very supportive with many honking their
horns, flashing V signs or thumbs up, and cheering
trough open windows. A whole lot
of people are sick to death of the American gun cult. Only a handful flipped us off or shouted
expletives. It was almost as if the
gun fetishists finally realized that they are widely outnumbered
even in traditionally conservative McHenry County.
And
maybe Congress is also feeling the heat.
On Sunday the broad outlines of a bi-partisan moderate gun
reform act that could actually clear the Senate by a filibuster
proof margin was announced. It is
far short of the assault weapon ban needed and panders to
Republicans on misdirection to hardening school defenses and mental
health reforms that won’t screen out many of their own base. But it is something and Biden has already
announced he will sign it.
To
get broader reform voters must turn out NRA enablers and elect responsible people
to Congress. It is critical to hold
the House, which pollsters believe will elect a Republican majority
due to redistricting and voter suppression and gain a clear majority in
the Senate without having to kiss the asses of Joe Manchin and
Kyrsten Sinema.
You’ve
got your marching orders now.
Time to hit the streets with renewed energy.
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