North Shore moms to march on Capitol Hill for gun safety reforms
WASHINGTON (CBS) – A group of mothers from the North Shore are fighting for reforms to the nation's gun laws and making sure their voices are heard this week during a march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
CBS 2's Tim McNicolas spoke with the organizer of a group of moms who are demanding measures like a new ban on assault-style guns.
The group of moms will make their way to the nation's capitol, where they will join families from Uvalde, Texas, the site of another recent mass shooting.
Organizers said they expect more than 500 people to travel to D.C. for the march this week.
"We have almost too many survivors to coordinate," said Kitty Brandtner, in an update she posted on Instagram before her flight left to D.C.
The Winnetka mom is helping organize this week's march.
"I just hugged my kids and started bawling because they are the reason I am doing this," she said. "And I'm not gonna stop until we federally ban assault weapons."
Organizers said more than 100 people who were at the Highland Park July 4 parade will be among those attending the march. Last weekend, kids in Highland Park sold lemonade to help cover the group's travel expenses.
"We are going to make Highland Park the last community impacted by a mass shooting," Brandtner said.
The group will march at the Capitol on Wednesday, but first, they will met on Tuesday with federal lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Schneider, whose district includes Highland Park, and Jan Schakowsky.
"It is absolutely within the hands of the Congress of the United States to do something about it," Schakowsky said. "We did it once before and that's to have a ban on assault weapons."
McNICOLAS: Is that really a realistic ask though, given the pushback that you and your colleagues have gotten from Republicans?
"We made a start," Schakowsky said. "I do have to say that the red flag laws that passed the House and Senate and signed by the president, if we can make sure that people like this shooter actually get reported, we know that red flag laws do have the potential of saving lives."
"I think if we can pass the universal background check legislation that passed the House twice, and get the Senate to pick it up, we can do a better job," Schneider said.
McNICHOLAS: What's the difference this time around that might cause change?
"I don't know that anything is different," Schneider said. "You just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and when you know you're on the right side, you don't give up."
The North Shore groups is calling the event March Fourth, a reference to the July 4 shooting.
