http://www.sltrib.com/2000/apr/04232000/utah/43682.htm
Utah Women Rally: Take Aim at Proponents for Stricter Gun Control Sunday, April 23, 2000
Janalee Tobias, president of Women Against Gun Control, speaks in favor of the Second Amendment at a rally at the Capitol on Saturday. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune) BY MARK HAVNES THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
A speaker in front of the Utah State Capitol on Saturday morning said he stood in the safest place in Utah surrounded by those who equate the value of freedom in America with the right of the people to arm themselves.
A chorus of cheers then rose from more than 700 people who ignored the threat of rain to attend a rally in support of the Second Amendment and to blast the organizers of the Million Mom March -- planned in Washington, D.C., for Mother's Day -- as not being " ladylike.''
People gathered for the rally, called together by a blaring recording of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic,'' and as the rain clouds broke up, the sun came out along with a sea of posters printed with pro-gun slogans like "Gun Control Kills,'' "If we Lose Guns We Lose Liberty'' or "Guns Don't Kill People, People Do.''
One of those attending pulled a nylon stocking over his head and carried a lead pipe along with a poster that read, "Criminals for Gun Control.''
After the singing of the national anthem, Janalee Tobias, president of Women Against Gun Control, which organized the rally, told the crowd that organizers of the Million Mom March need to learn some manners.
"It's not ladylike to take things that don't belong to you,'' she said. "Our rights belong to us and you can't have them.''
The crowd agreed, repeating in unison, "You can't have them.''
She also said it is "not ladylike'' to encourage the bad guys to think that the good guys are not going to have guns.
"Are you going to call 911 or reach for a 9 mm [handgun] if someone is trying to kill you?'' she asked. "If a criminal tries to break into your house, do you reach for your baby's binky or a broom or do you reach for the Beretta or Browning?''
Tobias said the Million Mom March supporters "twist the truth'' and are irresponsible to send the message to criminals that women do not take the Second Amendment seriously.
Organizers of the Million Mom March are encouraging women from around the country to converge on the nation's capital on May 14 in support of legislation for stricter controls on guns, which they consider a serious threat to the safety of the nation's children.
Tobias, like others at the rally, views more gun regulations as a threat to law-abiding citizens.
The crowd was urged to contact Gov. Mike Leavitt and let him know their feelings on allowing concealed-weapons permit holders to pack guns in churches and schools. The volatile issue is the subject of a petition drive by Utahns Against Gun Violence to put the issue of a gun ban in churches and schools on the ballot.
Bill Nash, the group's president, briefly attended Saturday's rally as an observer. He said the petition drive is proceeding well and expects the group to soon reach its signature goal. He said polls have shown two-thirds of Utahns favor keeping concealed weapons out of churches and schools.
Utahns Against Gun Violence supports the Million Mom March and Nash saw Saturday's rally as good advertising for the event.
"I remember what [former Utah governor] J. Bracken Lee said,'' Nash recalled: " 'I don't care what they say about me, as long as it is on the front page and they spell my name right.' ''
Plans are being made in most states to hold similar rallies at the local level to show support for the Washington gathering. Utah's will be held May 14 at 3 p.m. at the City-County Building in Salt Lake City.
Gayle Ruzika, one of Utah's most vocal conservative activists, received an enthusiastic greeting from those at Saturday's rally as she took the microphone.
She reminded them that the Salt Lake Valley was settled by those who "came to escape the tyranny of the federal government,'' adding, "We're here to do the same thing today.''
She urged those attending to write letters, send e-mails and make telephone calls to elected leaders at every level of government from city councils to Congress and let them know that they will not tolerate any compromise of their Second Amendment rights. She then admonished them to each urge 10 other people to do the same. "If you don't fight the war, you can't claim the victory,'' she told the crowd.
Other speakers, from a concealed-weapons instructor to a representative of the Utah Gun Owners Legal Defense Fund, lamented the failure of the courts to enforce existing gun laws.
Mitch Velos, an attorney and member of the Legal Defense Fund, could not understand why the Million Mom March was being held in Washington, D.C., which he said was the murder capital of the country. He said they would be better off holding the rally in Panguitch, in southern Utah's Garfield County, which has a lower crime rate than Washington's, "Because Annie knows where to get her gun.''
One of the least popular people attending the rally was Melinda Bradshaw, mother of 16-year-old Bethany Hyde who was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in November 1998 in West Valley City. Bradshaw held a poster with a picture of her blonde-haired daughter that said, "Death by bullet. Don't let this be your child.'' It brought a steady stream of insolent remarks from some members of the crowd, including one woman who said, " We have to sacrifice a few" to get our freedom.
Bradshaw, who was not a speaker at the rally, said she does not advocate taking guns away from people but wants to see tighter restrictions like background checks of those buying weapons at gun shows and is opposed to allowing them in schools and churches. "We just want to be sensible about sensible regulations,'' Bradshaw said.
Salt Lake City resident Angela Sedgewick, who has a concealed-weapons permit, was supportive of the rally's message that government is too powerful. "It's going to run us over,'' she said.
When asked what she was going to be doing on Mother's Day, she said it would not be marching with other mothers.
"I'm going to be with my children and mother and other family.''
© Copyright 2000, The Salt Lake Tribune