Rev. Jackson Leads Rally Calling For Assault Weapons Ban
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a group of nearly 100 people who picketed outside of a River North movie theater on Saturday, calling for a ban on the sale and possession of assault weapons.
He said that the courts have ruled that individuals can carry handguns and hunters can have their rifles. But he said the assault weapon was not envisioned by the framers of the U.S. Constitution and is good for little except to inflict mass casualties of the type that occurred July 20 in Aurora, Colo.
Rev. Jackson called assault weapons instruments of domestic terrorism.
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"It must give al Qaeda, the Taliban and terrorists comfort to know that they can use the Second Amendment and use it to create an arsenal that can kill many innocent people," he said in the march outside of the AMC River East Theaters, at 322 W. Illinois St.
Marching alongside Rev. Jackson was the Rev. Janette Wilson of the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church, at 4100 S. King Dr. She asked how many Auroras it will take for politicians and the public to wake up.
"It's our time. It's our season. The amount of deaths and injuries resulting from gun use says that this is the moment in time," she said.
In the past, mass shootings have led to calls for restrictions on gun sales and possession that have gone ignored and been forgotten quickly. But Wilson said she is hoping that politicians will feel pressure in an election year -- and will act.
