“I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumblin’ down, a-tumblin’ down
I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumblin’ down, a-tumblin’ down”

— Carole King, I Feel The Earth Move, from Tapestry (1971)

At 10:14 AM on July Fourth, the moms living in Highland Park felt the earth move. In just 17 seconds, 83 bullets rang out from a rooftop during a parade commemorating the nation’s independence, leaving seven dead and over 35 wounded. During the ensuing nine days, Kitty Brandtner, a Winnetka resident, organized a rally and march that brought between 300 and 450 people to Washington, D.C. seeking an assault-weapons ban. Her effort carries the “March Fourth” moniker, with the longer “March Fourth to Ban Assault Weapons” assigned to the recently formed Section 501(c)(4) organization holding the funds.

At 11:00 AM today, the group met in Area 7 on Capitol Hill, just to the north of the Russell Senate Office Building, for a two-hour rally, which Brandtner and her fellow organizers hope will once again make the earth move, but in a more positive direction — specifically, shifting the Senate’s seemingly inert axis, culminating in an assault-weapons ban.

To date, the GoFundMe Campaign has raised over $250,000 toward its $300,000 goal. The funds will defer the travel costs of victims and survivors who traveled to D.C., as well as provide assistance to victims and their families who suffered at the hands of confessed gunman Robert “Bobby” Crimo III. Yesterday, those most directly affected met with Representatives and Senators, including Senators Tammy Duckworth (IL), Dick Durbin (IL), and Amy Klobuchar (MN). Following the rally today, some of the organizers and victims headed to the White House for discussions with President Biden’s senior staff.

After reading about plans for the rally in the Sun-Times last week, I decided to make the trip as part of my Public Declarations project. I knew, however, that I was taking a risk. By all accounts the organizers were neophytes when it comes to demonstrations and rallies. I signed up for what became almost daily emails, none of which allayed my concerns. The details were sparse. Would there be a march? Would there be speakers? If so, who? Would the group meet in the Capitol with legislators and their aides? Were there any pre- or post-rally activities? As of 8:00 AM today, I still did not have answers despite having sent an email to the organizers the day before.

Arriving on site today, I found two people setting up a podium and a small portable speaker system. In the shade, coolers contained bottled water, boxes held energy bars and salty nibbles, and white plastic chairs brimmed with piles of orange tee-shirts. Four or five television news crews had staked out positions 15 or so yards from the podium. Moms, dads, and kids milled about in shirts that read “Highland Park Strong” and “March Fourth.” Many had brought handmade signs bearing clever slogans. Others held the official orange placard bearing the words “Enough is Enough” in white letters. The entire affair had a DIY vibe to it.

The organizers kept to the announced timetable, with the rally starting at 11:02 AM. Over the years, I have photographed dozens of demonstrations and marches. I pretty much tune out the speakers. Most commit two cardinal sins: terrible delivery (often looking down as they read the speech from an iPhone) and all-too-predictable remarks. No need to listen; just keep photographing.

That was not the case today. For the next 75 minutes, those gathered in a large circle on the verdant uncut lawn — including a number of politicos — heard a pitch-perfect case for an assault-weapons ban. The speakers were varied, polished (even when the tears flowed), and mesmerizing. Many in the crowd wept as several of the speakers recounted their experiences and shared memories of lost loved ones.

Probably the most effective aspect of the overall presentation was the tapestry that the organizers had woven. As expected, several Highland Park residents spoke, but so did several people from Uvalde, Texas, as well as a resident of Chicago’s westside: We heard white suburban women speak about their horrific experience in a supposedly protected enclave; Latinos from Texas speak of the unthinkable; and Chicago activist Kina Collins speak of the daily, but oft-overlooked gun violence in neighborhoods located on the Chicago’s south and west sides. She recounted watching one person that she knew shoot another person she knew. Three groups, three different tales, but the same terror, tragedy, and tears.

After sitting through countless rallies and demonstrations, I have developed a strong aversion to diversity for the sake of diversity—lineups of speakers who include representatives from organized labor, student groups, some version of the Socialist party, the BLM movement, the LGBTQ communituy, and a host of others showcased largely for their group affiliation rather than what they have to say.

I am not troubled by diversity, but what I see all too often is virtue signaling. At an abortion-rights rally, are calls for college debt cancellation, increases in the minimum wage, and defunding of the police relevant? All too often, diversity sees the event hijacked in the name of other causes, thereby diluting the core message and alienating potential supporters. The March Fourth organizers wisely avoided that trap today.

Yes, diversity was present, but productively so—to demonstrate that gun violence can strike anyone regardless of his or her ethnicity, prosperity, or geographic locale. The March Fourth organizers wove a multi-dimensional tapestry that portrayed the stark reality underlying gun violence—everyone is a potential victim. Brandtner and friends should continue to add patches to that tapestry as they organize subsequent events, blending into their programs additional harrowing, first-person accounts from other communities hit by gun violence. I assume some of the money from the GoFundMe campaign was used to cover travel costs from Uvalde. That was money well spent.

Harrowing accounts? Absolutely. Here are some of the highlights:

As the event’s mastermind, Kitty Brandtner began by thanking everyone for showing up. She then declared that she is a mother of three children under age five; then she noted that she comes from the cheap seats, presumably a signal that she was not a lobbyist or politician, but just an ordinary otherwise unengaged citizen. Several times she repeated her core message, declaring, “We want a ban on assault weapons and we want it right now!,” with loud applause erupting from the group.

Next up was Carrie Drummond, from Alexandria, Virginia. I would advise her to start buying lottery tickets. She began by recalling that five years ago she and her family were walking in a local park where members of Congress were holding a practice session for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. You remember, the one where a gunman opened fire, almost killing House Majority Whip Steve Scalise while also wounding a lobbyist and a staffer? Drummond then reported, “Unfortunately, five years later, we were at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, and we had to dodge bullets there too. This is not right,” as she placed her hand on her son’s shoulder. “This is our second mass shooting."

The most detailed firsthand account came from Abbey Brosio. She is a science teacher whose husband, Tom, manages Gearhead Outfitters, whose rooftop Crimo used as a sniper’s perch. Brosio suffered a graze wound to her back as she scooped up her one- and three-year-olds, taking refuge in Gearhead’s basement with 16 others (if I heard the number correctly). Brosio reports that the group held hands tightly as they prayed.

Interspersed among the speakers were four Uvalde parents. Angel Garza told those gathered, “I want you to know that every night I wake up at three in the morning, and my wife is sitting there crying wondering why she is alive and our daughter isn’t,” as he choked back tears. At this point, audible gasps were heard in the crowd, followed by tears.

Earlier, Kimberly Rubio, with her husband Felix standing by her side, described what happened in the Robb Elementary School classroom by imagining what her daughter Alexandria (Lexi) experienced before her life was sensely snuffed out. “I try to view Room 111 through her eyes. I picture which side of the room she and her classmates huddled against as an 18-year old man fired toward them, killing them so swiftly that their teacher who laid bleeding nearby said he didn’t hear a whimper or a cry. . . . Now I want you to picture my face, my husband’s face as we read our daughter’s death certificate, our faces contorted in pain, tears flowing freely as we read her cause of death, gunshot wound to the head.” She asked, “What if the gunman never had access to an assault weapon?,” when she listed a number of what-ifs that continue to haunt her.

Not all the reports focused on dead children. Oscar Orona reported that his son, Noah, survived a gunshot wound to the shoulder. The details, however, nonetheless were equally terrifying. Noah was on the ground for 77 minutes with his eyes closed, pretending to be dead. The first time he opened them he saw teeth. When he opened them again, he saw one of his classmates, blood flowing from her mouth, as she took her last breath.

Orona told the group that his son is not the same person today that he was before the shooting, and never will be the same person. Orona believes that no amount of therapy or counseling will alter that reality. I read one article reporting that immediately after the shooting, Noah apologized to his father for losing his glasses and getting blood on his shirt.

Another Uvalde parent, Javier Casares, told the group, “I picked up the sheet that was wrapped to her body and saw her wounds, [indecipherable] that had pierced her little heart. My little girl fought and fought there at the school till she could no more. Our gloves are off: we are here to kick some ass.”

Listening to these parents, I had only one thought: How did they have the strength to appear in public, with their hearts in their throats, just 50 days after the Uvalde massacre? Obviously, they are doing it out of love for their children. But still, I find their superhuman courage inspirational.

Also speaking was Highland Park resident Revi Pearl, who recounted the many questions her young daughter has asked in the wake of the shooting: “Mommy can bullets get through my door? Can they go through my window at night when I am sleeping? When we are in the living room? Where does a bullet have to hit me to kill me? When will my nightmares stop? Why couldn’t the people who fell on the ground be protected by their mommies and daddies?”

As noted, a number of politicians were on hand, including Senators Tammy Duckworth (Illinois) and Chris Murphy (Connecticut), as well as Representatives Sean Casten (IL 6th District), Jan Schakowsky (IL 9th District), and Brad Schneider (IL 10th District). None of them covered new ground, but to her credit, Schakowsky was more animated and emphatic than I have seen her before. Murphy brought his 10 years of experience since the Sandy Hook massacre, telling the crowd that he thought the movement had finally gained the momentum necessary to produce a ban on assault weapons, but that more work was necessary, with setbacks likely.

Following the end of the remarks, everyone assembled for a march that involved circling the park, with a group photo-op in front of a reflecting pool, with the U.S. Capitol in the background. The event came to a quick conclusion; many headed back to the Hyatt for a lunch.

As I hope is clear, this was a highly successful event, but the hard work lies ahead. Highland Park sits atop the list of locations that have experienced mass shootings, but unfortunately, they will be dethroned from the top spot sooner than can be imagined, just as Uvalde, Buffalo and countless other communities have been overtaken. When the blood is still wet and bright red, the public and politicians pay attention. As the press coverage falls off, Brandtler and her associates will have to answer a simple question, “What next?”

I know one thing for sure: A March for Our Lives event in Chicago’s Federal Plaza will not change minds on Capitol Hill if only 500 people showup. Although Senator Murphy was optimistic, he tempered his optimism with some realpolitik. To paraphrase Murphy, the people on Capitol Hill respond to numbers because numbers are the only thing that matters when it comes to retaining power. To succeed, Brandtner must put numbers on the board.

As I have previously written, gun control advocates need to put 40 million demonstrators on the street before the holdouts in Congress will fear the consequences of inaction. Maybe that magic number is 30 million or 10 million, but it certainly isn’t 500 people marching in Washington, D.C. or Highland Park.

Kitty Brandtner and her friends in the “cheap seats” may be able to work miracles, as they boldly hope. After today’s event, I would not count them out, but they are up against the very well funded NRA, as well as Republican politicians who know a good wedge issue when they see one. The Right spent 50 years trying to overturn Roe v, Wade. If I were a Highland Park mom, I would begin politicizing my kids, who likely are the ones who will carry the ball over the goal line. This is a generational fight, given that California has 68 times more residents than Wyoming, but both states have two votes in the U.S. Senate.

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