Groups demand action on assault weapons during Geneva protest

GENEVA – About 70 protesters occupied the Route 38 bridge over the Fox River on May 13 in Geneva to urge more government action on a national assault weapons ban.

The rally started at 2 p.m. just west of the Route 38 bridge, where the crowd of volunteers gathered with signs before marching onto the southern pedestrian walkway, where they stayed until 4 p.m.

The main organizers of the event were the Kane Kendall chapter of Moms Demand Action, a chapter of the Everytown for Gun Safety organization.

Many of the protesters wore red Moms Demand Action shirts or orange in anticipation of the national Wear Orange weekend June 2-4 to honor survivors of gun violence.

Anita Walls is the events leader for Moms Demand Action and a main organizer of the protest.

Walls said the message of the protest was that for Mother’s Day this year, rather than flowers, moms would like Congress to reinstitute a national ban on assault weapons.

The crowd of protesters cheered as passing cars sounded their horns. Walls said the protest was one of more than 200 nationwide and she was happy with the support they received.

“We’re out here because we want to bring focus and attention to this,” Walls said. “This response is amazing.”

Moms Demand Action student liaison Arad Boxenbaum was among those protesting. He led the crowd in chants over a megaphone.

Boxenbaum said he has been involved with organizing events since 2016. He said it is clear that assault rifles are to blame and there is no reason for any civilian to own one.

“We can’t just stand by and do nothing as this constant cycle of gun violence continues,” Boxenbaum said. “It’s unacceptable. We can’t raise another generation like we are now.”

Susan Sanders works at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn and said she was protesting because of a recent traumatic event at the school.

Sanders said an active shooter call May 10 led to armed officers charging into the school, and although it turned out to be a false alarm, the event was traumatic for students and staff.

“The effects are there and we didn’t even have an active shooter,” Sanders said. “I’m on this bridge to try and get some reform.”

Mother’s Day marked one year since a white supremacist took the lives of 10 people and wounded three in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. May 24 will mark one year since 19 children and two teachers were killed in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, according to a news release from Moms Demand Action.

Every day, 120 Americans are shot and killed and more than 200 are shot and wounded, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wonder database.

As of May 13, the Mass Shooting Tracker website has reported 258 mass shootings this year.

In 2020, firearm-related injuries surpassed motor vehicle crashes in becoming the leading cause of death among people ages 1 to 19 years old, according to the National Institutes of Health.