Around 11 am, in the chilling wind, a group of students from Jubilee Elementary school stand in the courtyard of City Hall, holding signs of plea and protest: “Save The Children.” “Do You Care About Our Community?” “We Want To Feel Safe.”The students have lost three of their own to violence. And they’re joined by politicians, anti-violence activists and grieving families to demand the city's right to enact its own gun laws.
A middle-aged woman stands off to the side talking to a small audience of women about how her son was shot three times. “The only way they’re gonna stop crime is if people pray,” she warns.
At the start of the rally, a reverend offers a prayer. Then a rabbi. Then a member of the Muslim community.
Earlier in the day, City Councilman Darrell Clarke and City Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller rallied in Harrisburg at the state legislature. Last year the two filed a lawsuit, calling the city’s gun violence a “state-created danger.” Clarke and Miller are pushing for such reforms as a one-handgun-every-30-days, and lost-and-stolen gun reporting requirements.
“This is the most important issue in Philadelphia,” says Clarke, standing on a makeshift stage. “And today we take the first step in what we believe will be our right to determine our destiny.”
Clarke points out a mother holding a sign with a picture of an assault rifle that reads: “Who sold the gun that killed my son?" He also points out that in Philadelphia a person can buy 1,000 guns a day.
“I don’t know what kind of state allows us to do this,’ he says. “It’s ridiculous.”
The majority of the city’s homicides were committed with illegal guns.
Clarke vows to take the constitutional battle all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. “We’re going to protect our citizens and our children,” he says.
City Council plans to introduce other gun legislation, which Mayor Michael Nutter promises he'll sign, telling the crowd, “We’re not messing around.”
Nutter tells how state law requires the reporting of a stolen car, a license to drive, and insurance on motor vehicles.
“None of which is required in terms of a handgun,” he says. “This is insanity. This is madness.”
(Photo credit: Jeff Fusco)
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