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Hadassah members display signs supporting gun control at Sunday's Million Mom • March in Washington.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer
111:
ost of the 750,000 individuals who ral-
lied for stricter gun control Sunday,
May 14, at the Million Mom March
in Washington, D.C., have now
returned home. Fortified with stories, reflections
and impressions of the march, they have much to
share about its purpose, benefit and impact.
•
In Michigan, some 3,000 marchers, many of
them from the Jewish community, traveled the
long distance to the Mother's Day rally.
"The thrill of being with determined women
was exhilarating," says Arlene Victor of Bloomfield
Hills. "There was a sense of women united in grief
for those mothers who lost children."
As incoming president and founder of the Detroit
chapter of Women's Action for New Directions,
Victor traveled with members of her Southfield-based
political activist organization. The group moved its
national board meeting from Boston to Washington,
D.C., to enable members to attend the march. •
Victor was especially struck by the words of
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president of the New York-
based Union of American Hebrew Congregations,
which represents the Reform movement. He was the
only clergy member to speak at the rally.
People cheered for everything he said. I felt so proud
to be a Jew.
"One thing I remember so well is when he said,
`If lawmakers don't change the laws, we have to
change the lawmakers.' Then, he said, 'Shalom.'"
The message "enough is enough" was
repeated throughout the rally, often by
mothers who lost children or held signs
that read: "A gun killed my child."
Gorchoff says throughout the day
she was surrounded by many wearing
pink, black and white Million Mom
March T-shirts. But she also noticed a
group from Colorado wearing T-shirts
reading: "We are Columbine."
"It's one thing to watch a tragedy on TV, and
another to see the people who really were among the
catalysts for the rally. It is a connection to tragedy in
a different way. It's a club you don't want to belong
to," Gorchoff says.
Rena Kirshenbaum of West Bloomfield was
Detroit-area participants reflect
on their journey and make plans
to continue the fight.
"He laid it out there so clearly," she says. "He
blamed Congress for their cowardice and the
National Rifle Association for their duplicity" She
says he answered his own question, "'Is gun control
a religious issue?'" with a resounding, "'You bet!'"
Corky Gorchoff of Farmington Hills agrees that
Rabbi Yoffie made an impact, even with the primari-
ly Baptist group on her bus. "He was phenomenal,
making such an impression. He was so well received.
MARCHING ON on page 20
2000
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