Then, Bayer organized her own family to travel to the march in Washington, D.C., on Mother's Day. On Sunday, she was surrounded by seven relatives, including one grandchild in a stroller. Contingents at the march representing synagogues and Jewish groups brought banners and signs, dotting the mall grounds with visible Jewish presence. Congress' inaction on the issue is unacceptable, they said, pledging to make gun policy a top issue in November's elections. We have a moral obligation that emanates from Torah and God.
Today is the day to make our legislators listen.
But legislators in Washington are unlikely to do more than listen, as a major gun-control bill has been languishing in Congress for almost 10 months. Passage is unlikely this session. Nevertheless, women such as Gail Powers of Los Angeles, the West Coast region coordinator for the march, believe the issue will be crucial for congressional races. The Jewish community appears mobilized around gun control, perhaps due to last August's shooting at the North Valley Jewish Community Center near Los Angeles. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Reform movement's Union of American Hebrew Congregations, spoke at the national rally.