WASHINGTON — Local organizers who mobilized following the Highland Park parade shooting rallied again in Washington D.C. on Thursday with one goal: banning assault weapons.
Two days after the Highland Park July 4 Parade shooting, ‘March Fourth’ was born. For the second time, suburban mothers were back in the nation’s capital to urge senators to vote yes on the ban.
“We had over 500 people show up within a week to our first march and rally. Two weeks later, the House passed a federal ban on assault weapons bill, something they hadn’t done for three decades, so what we’re doing does matter, our voices matter and they’re being heard,” said March Fourth founder Kitty Brandtner.
This time, organizers say they’ve gathered even more support.
“We had survivors from Parkland, from Buffalo, Uvalde, Highland Park, Orlando, the list goes on, and it’s so unfortunate that the list goes on and we need to end that list,” said Highland Park survivor Ivy Domont, who was at the parade where seven people lost their lives and dozens more were hurt.
Ivy Domont traveled to the Capitol for the rally Thursday.
“The fact that I cannot ensure my child’s safety going to our hometown’s Fourth of July parade where assault weapons terrorized our community; that is not a world that I want to raise my children in,” Domont said. “This is an American problem and it needs to stop.”
Eight-year-old Cooper Roberts was left paralyzed after being shot that day. After multiple surgeries and weeks of worrying and rehabilitation, Cooper’s family said he’s finally back home—trying to adjust to the new challenges. Cooper has taken up wheelchair tennis and has already started playing.
March Fourth organizers hope to put enough pressure on Congress before they leave to campaign in October, with some members saying they will remain in Washington until then.