South Dallas rallies to stress gun control

[Matt King]

DALLAS — Carrying pictures of shooting victims and chanting, "We must stop the violence," about 60 people marched through the streets of South Dallas on Tuesday, calling for stricter gun control laws and a crackdown on illegal weapons sales.

Lamont Levels, 30, was among the marchers, wearing a patch after a shooting blinded him in one eye. He marched with his wife right past the location where he was shot six years ago.

“We have to be activists today,” he said. “To get attention so we can reach the kids and stop the violence.”

The Dallas rally was one of 22 nationwide organized jointly by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Jesse Jackson, leader of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, came up with the idea after a spate of violence in Chicago this year.

The marchers headed to Warren United Methodist Church for an hour-long program scheduled to include speeches from victims of gun violence, including parents who have lost children, and public officials such as Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia.

Joshua Collier, 28, of Oak Cliff was among the marchers, advocating for more awareness. “Only we are responsible for stopping it,” he said.

Instead of pushing for a dramatic expansion of gun control, the groups are emphasizing better enforcement of existing regulations.

“Politicians are afraid to talk about almost anything that has the word ‘gun’ connected to it,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign group, formerly the Republican mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind. “We’re not trying to ban all guns. We’re trying to say it’s too easy for dangerous people to get guns.”

The rallies come on the 44th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legendary “I have a dream” speech. Organizers say Dr. King would support their efforts, citing his commitment to nonviolence.

“A lot of the success of the civil rights movement was joining the African-American community with the white community,” Mr. Helmke said. “If anyone is being injured, all are being injured.”

In Houston, volunteers plan to place signs on the Montrose Bridge over U.S. 59, a main freeway into the downtown area.

“Texas is a pretty big gun state,” said Francis Cook, a Texas-based spokesman for Rainbow/PUSH. “I’m a hunter. I know a lot of hunters. Nobody hunts with an assault rifle.”

A shooting rampage this year by a student at Virginia Tech University has encouraged some gun control supporters to become more vocal. “We really hope to start a dialogue,” said organizer Marsha McCartney. “We need to take it to Austin because that’s where they can make the changes.”

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070828_wz_guncontrol.7bc32a9b.html


Doesn't mention if there were any counter-protests.

 

[Kindrox]

I read about it this morning. I was hoping they would be dumb enough to show up at a gun store, in which case I was going to show up at said business during their two hour window, and go shopping!

But alas, they were content to goosstep their way down the crack filled streets of inner city dallas, all the while preaching the gospal of more laws to solve what the old ones don't fix.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

Considering the very few news stories about this, I'd consider it a bust.

 

[Matt King]

Considering the very few news stories about this, I'd consider it a bust.

My thoughts as well. How did the protests go in the other cities?

 

[pdowg881]

Texas is a pretty big gun state,” said Francis Cook, a Texas-based spokesman for Rainbow/PUSH. “I’m a hunter. I know a lot of hunters. Nobody hunts with an assault rifle.”


I think many gun control advocates completely misss the point of the 2nd ammendmment and why it exists. I'm pretty sick of people thinking hunting is the only reason to own a gun and that any gun that's not a traditional hunting gun is for murderes etc.

 

[AeroDillo]

That they had only sixty marchers is a pretty good sign of failure. Especially in an area the size of the DFW metroplex.

 

[Bartkowski]

I personally think that some of our politicians need to grow a pair so to speak and quit giving the damned liberals so much ground, the liberals demand we have little to no access to firearms, pro gun politicians settle with some gun rights. I realize it is not so easy to hold your ground like that but why should we be defending our rights, shouldn't they be put to trial for trying pass laws that are against the constitutional rights?

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

"Lamont Levels, 30, was among the marchers, wearing a patch after a shooting blinded him in one eye. He marched with his wife right past the location where he was shot six years ago."

Real choirboy. A local TV news report mentioned that he started out in a gang, and had formed his own gang when he was shot and blinded.

Now, I'm not saying he *deserved* to be shot, but he sure didn't have a moral problem with guns when he was on the dispensing end.

South Dallas is its own hell. I don't blame people there for wanting less violence (I want less violence in my Fort Worth area, for that matter); what I blame them for is promoting the same tired, failed ideas again and again and again.

 

[Standing Wolf]

“We have to be activists today,” he said. “To get attention..."

They deserved to be laughed at.

 

[TexasRifleman]

No one goes to that part of Dallas.

Activists, press, cops... no one goes there.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Doesn't mention if there were any counter-protests.

The 2A Democrats were supposed to hold a counter rally just a couple of blocks up the street at the corner of MLK and Malcolm X.
http://a2dems.net/
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/08/2a-dems-to-hold-828-rally.html

I don't know if they actually did it or not. If they did, then it apparently did not catch the media's attention and usually such a counter-protest on a hot button topic like this would get the media's attention.

No one goes to that part of Dallas.

Activists, press, cops... no one goes there.

What are you talking about? Cops are all over that area of Dallas. Given that there was an anti-gun rally there, then activists do go there. Given that the media covered the anti-gun rally, the the media does go there.

On top of that, there were even LEOs that participated in the anti rally
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...s/stories/082907dnmetguncontrol.7ab9e987.html

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

On top of that, there were even LEOs that participated in the anti rally

Lupe Valdez is an LEO only in the strictest technical sense of the word. If I had overspent my jail budget by $123 million this year, lost misdemeanor prisoners in my jail for months at a time, and drawn the sheer number of lawsuits for inhumane, substandard jail conditions that she has, I would want to be focusing people's attention somewhere else as well.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway suggested restricting advertisements for gun shows on billboards in Dallas.

Too bad for you that Mayor Tom Leppert is a TSRA A-rated candidate.

Both the Sheriff and Mayor Pro Tem are an excellent example of what happens when voters get disgusted with national politics and decide there is no reason they should go vote.

 

[jaholder1971]

Lemme get this straight: Chicago has increased violent crime, so they're marching against it in Dallas???

That's kind of like burning down Watts because some white cops from Simi Valley, er, never mind.

 

[Geronimo45]

No one goes to that part of Dallas.

Activists, press, cops... no one goes there.

Heh. So true.

Yes, there are cops down there... but not many people go down there if they can help it. Sixty people out of all the folks in Dallas? That's downright pathetic. I could probably get more people than that to protest the use of high-fructose-corn-syrup in our soft drinks instead of sugar.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Lemme get this straight: Chicago has increased violent crime, so they're marching against it in Dallas???

Actually, no. The issue isn't about Chicago. Chicago simply served as a catalyst. There were about 20 protests held in several major cities, not just Dallas (including...Phoenix, Birmingham, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Diego, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, and Raleigh-Durham).

Heh. So true.

Yes, there are cops down there... but not many people go down there if they can help it. Sixty people out of all the folks in Dallas? That's downright pathetic. I could probably get more people than that to protest the use of high-fructose-corn-syrup in our soft drinks instead of sugar.

I work in Fair Park. A lot of people don't go down t(here), as you say, because there is nothing there for them that they don't have in their own neighborhoods elsewhere in the Dallas area. However, the neighborhood and roads where the protest was held carry a lot of traffic and hold a lot of local businesses, churches, schools, etc. This isn't some deserted area where nobody goes, but an area that holds a lot of people and sees a lot of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Just because youl and your friends don't hang out down there doesn't mean folks don't go there.

Calling the protest of 60 folks as pathetic is a bit funny as it is admitting that the counter protest by gun rights supporters was therefore actually worse than pathetic, much worse. Apparently, the anti-gun folks had 20 times the turnout than pro-gun folks. Yep, 3 whole folks showed up in support of gun rights and gun ownership, 3.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=161038273&blogID=304425630

So who had the more pathetic rally?

 

[Big Calhoun]

Actually, I do go to South Dallas every so often. Maybe because I lived in places like Asbury Park, NJ and BedSty, Brooklyn, NY, it's not a big deal to me. There is a wonderful club there called Sankofas that has an AWESOME spoken word night every Saturday. It's usually peaceful but was recently marred by violence a few weeks ago. But honestly, in the year I've been going there (Sankofas), it's been mostly enlightening times with some good food. I also like Fair Park and like to take pictures out there. Again, since I still retain my 'NY state of mind', it's not a big deal and I don't have fears even while lugging around $3000 worth of cameras and lenses.

All that being said, I think the rally had noble intentions, even if they were misplaced. Yes, South Dallas can be a hell-hole and the community needs to take steps to change. Violent crime and the felons who participate in it need to be addressed and chased from the neighborhood.

At the same time, I think the rally fell short of doing more good. IMO, it's not enough to say violent crime must cease and we have to enforce the laws better. Fact is, the criminals go around the laws to get their guns so better enforcement kind of becomes a moot point. I think a better use of that platform would have been to engage the community on problems that affect all urban communities and spawn crime: lack of education and placing value in education, lack of work ethic, irresponsible parenting, lack of cooperation and mistrust of authority (police), etc. These are issues that don't just affect black communities, but just about every urban community in this country.

Quite frankly, I don't feel that the Rainbow/PUSH coalition was the proper messenger. Jesse Jackson is an opportunist, he goes to speak on issues where he can get paid for his appearances. A true community leader speaks because he or she wants to see change and believes in the message they are delivering, not because it's a $10,000 speaking engagement/easy money.

The 'failures' I see in that rally amount to the wrong organization delivering the wrong message to the wrong set of people. It might have been better to hold it later in the evening when more people could have attended and with a stronger message focusing on personal responsibility.

But hey, what do I know? I'm just a telecom employee, not a community activist.

 

[buzz_knox]

I think many gun control advocates completely misss the point of the 2nd ammendmment and why it exists. I'm pretty sick of people thinking hunting is the only reason to own a gun and that any gun that's not a traditional hunting gun is for murderes etc.

Actually, they understand the purpose of the 2nd Amendment quite well, both in the context of it as a safety check against tyrannical gov't and a guarantee of the right of self-defense. However, their ultimate goals (control over society) require both a tyrannical gov't and a complete deemphasis of individual responsibility (and thus, individual rights). So, they attempt to destroy the 2nd Amendment by bastardizing what it means, and convincing everyone else of the false meaning.

If you control the dialogue, you control the debate and thus the result.

 

[jfh]

In what must be stunning first,

The Minneapolis StarTribune has no news report on their site about any antigun rally in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area yesterday.

There must not have been one. Those people have generally busted out here, after the "blood in the streets" cries during the CCL debates five years ago and no such bath after passage.

If there'd been a rally, the StarTribune would have covered it, for sure, and conflated its importance.

Jim H.

 

[USAFNoDAk]

Texas is a pretty big gun state,” said Francis Cook, a Texas-based spokesman for Rainbow/PUSH. “I’m a hunter. I know a lot of hunters. Nobody hunts with an assault rifle.”


Whoever this Francis Cook is, he is either ignorant or a liar. In either case, he is dead wrong, pardon the pun. Lot's of people hunt with assault rifles. Lots of people hunt with sniper rifles. He obviously is unaware of "prairie doggin". Some folks use "assault weapons" to hunt deer. That doesn't mean they blast the heck out of them by shooting them with 20 rounds. This guy is a conehead if I ever saw one. He should go back to France.

Also, the anti's would really love to expand the definition of "assault weapons" to ban whole new classes of guns. More guns used for hunting could easily be classified as "assault weapons" if the anti's ever achieve enough political power and clout.

This guy is either purposely or ingorantly falling for the divide and conquer scheme. That's where deer hunters are taught to oppose handgun shooters. Shotgun shooters are taught to oppose rifle shooters, handgun shooters, and shooters of military style firearms. Hunters are taught only to stand up against banning guns that can be used for hunting. Any hunter who falls for this scheme is either selfish, ignorant, or just plain stupid. Maybe all three. They certainly don't understand what the Second Amendment's purpose is.