FARGO-Cathy Lee will be a face in the crowd today in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., urging Congress to pass "common-sense gun legislation" to help stem the national epidemic of gun violence.
Lee, who has a 7-year-old son, belongs to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a group whose members have pledged to do "whatever it takes" to pass stricter gun control laws. The pledge echoes a vow made by Andy Parker, a rally speaker whose daughter-reporter Alison Parker-was shot to death last month on live television.
"Basically I was called as a citizen to get involved," said Lee, who lives on her family's farm near Davenport, located 30 miles southwest of Fargo.
"You see so much gun violence everywhere in this country these days," she said, adding that mass shootings in schools and theaters have become common occurrences.
"The gun violence just seems to be growing and growing," Lee said.
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Moms Demand Action, allied with Everytown for Gun Safety, advocates stricter background checks and gun control but does not have an extremist agenda, she said.
"This isn't any kind of an anti-gun movement," she said. "This group is pro-Second Amendment," which protects the right to bear arms.
Lee will read the names of North Dakota victims of gun violence. This list nor the number of names were available Wednesday.
Today's rally and call to action are timed to coincide with congressional members' return from a recess. Lee will urge Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., to support closing loopholes in gun background checks and working to promote gun safety.
Leah Auckenthaler, organizing manager for Moms Demand Action in North Dakota, said about 1,000 members have RSVP'd for today's rally on Capitol Hill.
"Our volunteers will literally be all over Washington, D.C.," she said. The forecast, however, calls for a 100 percent chance of rain, and that might dampen enthusiasm. "We're preparing for a downpour," Auckenthaler said.
Smaller gatherings will be held throughout the country, including a get-together in a private home in Fargo, she said, where up to 10 people are expected.
Moms Demand Action is comprised of volunteers from all 50 states. The organization claims 3 million volunteer members nationwide, but does not disclose its state and local membership numbers.
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"In North Dakota alone there are thousands of members," Auckenthaler said. "In Minnesota there are tens of thousands of members."
There is wide public support for more restrictive gun laws, Lee said. Gatherings like those in Washington and around the nation today will help build a groundswell that ultimately will persuade Congress to take action, she said.
"This is just for common-sense gun legislation for the safety of our children," Lee said.
