Outraged Highland Park moms demand further action to stop gun violence
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) – Moms from the Chicago area have been in the nation's capitol on a mission to demand more action on gun violence a little over a week since the deadly mass shooting in Highland Park.
CBS 2's Tim McNicholas were with the moms who said they were outraged, heartbroken and fed up, even after private meetings with lawmakers this week.
The group marched around the Capitol grounds spreading their message: a demand to federally ban assault-style firearms.
In less than 10 days, a mom from the North Shore fired up her flock to take on Congress with their signs, their feet and their voices. The regular people-turned activists were in D.C. to take on assault weapons.
"I am disgusted to now say that I am a survivor of gun violence," said Abby Brosio, a Highland Park mass shooting survivor, at a rally.
Brosio spoke as a survivor who was wounded at the July 4 parade.
"As I was running, I felt a very sharp pain in my side," Brosio said, recalling her experience during the shooting. "The adrenaline kind of blocked that out. I just hoped and prayed that my daughter was unharmed in my arms, and she was."
The sharp pain turned out to be from shrapnel.
Brosio held a sign reading "I've got a gunshot wound on my back and a fire in my heart."
Others on Wednesday, including Highland Park native Taryn Covrigaru, were there with a different title: outraged mom.
"I felt proud," Covrigaru said of seeing the speakers on Wednesday. "I felt overwhelmed with emotion that they were brave enough to speak today."
It wasn't just Highland Park survivors. Many rally attendees traveled from Uvalde, Texas, which was the scene of another horrific mass shooting in May. A father of one of the victims fought back tears as he shared his story of heartbreak.
"I promise you, I promise you do not want this to happen to you," said Angel Garza. "I promise you."
Through all the chants and slogans and talk though, at the end of the day, there were moms and dads who don't want assault-style weapons to be legal anymore.
Revi Pearl, a mother of three and survivor of the Highland Park shooting, shared some of the tough questions her children asked.
"'Mommy, can bullets get through my door,'" Pearl said. "'Can they go through my window at night when I'm sleeping? When we're in the living room? Where does a bullet have to hit me to kill me? When will my nightmares stop? Why couldn't the people that fell on the ground be protected by their mommies and daddies?'"