050815-DEES.mp3

This Sunday we celebrate Mother’s Day, but another significant anniversary coincides with the day…the Million Mom March.

It was first held 15 years ago on May 14, 2000 on the Washington D.C. Mall and it was a call to do something about gun violence including a demand for tighter gun control laws across the country. Dozens of speakers addressed the crowed sharing stories of  loved ones that were lost to gun violence.

Donna Dees, who was recently honored in Los Angeles by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, organized the Million Mom March, as a grassroots campaign.

It’s a true movement now,” and things have changed dramatically," says Dees.

“ When we started 15 years ago, advocates and activists were exhausted after a brutal battle in congress to pass the Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban,” according to Dees.

She says when members of congress attempted to close the gun show loop-hole that was part of the Brady Bill after Columbine happened in 1999,  there was little support for it.

The Million Mom March she says was started by some naive Mom’s who were her friends and neighbors, and they  quickly learned persuading Congress wouldn't be so easy. She says that's when they began a organized campaign to educate  the nation about the need for stronger regulation. Dees says she's never advocated taking guns away from responsible gun owners, but expanding the Brady background check.

Dees says she proud of how far the message has come and how much of the country is more educated about gun safety.