Northwest Philadelphia Group Rallies to End Gun Violence

Over 100 people gathered at a street corner in Northeast Philadelphia this Good Friday for an unforgettable worship service.

They were there to pray for an end to gun violence and , a gun shop nearby, to sign a code of conduct that would require them to pledge to do more than what is now required by law to reduce the number of guns sold illegally. 

The event was organized by Neighborhood Partners to End Gun Violence. Pastor Linda Noonan, who is one of the group's members, spoke from a makeshift podium at the sidestreet near the shop at 6104 Torresdale Ave.

Her Good Friday message to those assembled there, some of whom were holding signs with purple paper crosses, was that the people being commemorated that day had something in common. About 240 people, whose names were written on the little crosses the crowd held in the air, had died for the sole reason that they happened to be in the wrong place when a person who shouldn't have been carrying a gun fired it, she said. 

There was singing as the demonstrators tried to rise above the continuous blare of noise from the anti-demonstrators gathered along the wide sidewalk beside them. Most notable of this group was an ice cream truck which parked in the crosswalk, next to the police car, which was there to keep the peace but not to suppress the blaring monotonous jingle which flooded the entire hour and a half demonstration.

On the other hand, this truck and the other antics of the counterdemonstrators, which included a loud horn being blown and a noisy motorcycle making its way past the protest, created a kind of festive air. Children on skate boards and bikes came past. Many of the steady stream of cars passing on Torresdale Ave. beeped their horns in responce to one protester's sign, "Honk for Gun Reform."

Justine Ching, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, was a memorable witness at the rally.

His father and grandfather had fled from communist China and were very glad to immigrate to America where, in devoted patriotism, they both joined the military. At the rally, Ching conveyed a powerful story of his love for Philadelphia and his hope to make it the peaceful place of his predecessor's dreams. 

Cherie Ryans, whose son was killed 20 years ago by gun violence, was holding a portrait of her 18-year old alongside a picture of the type of automatic gun that killed him. The heading was "Who Sold This Gun That Killed My Son?" She expressed her continued grief but said she takes solace in events where the tragedy can be shared.  

CeasefirePA was represented by a young woman picking up signatures for the group's latest lobbying effort. The petition was titled: "Calling on our State and Federal Government to Fix the Broken National Background Check System."

Near the end of the rally, an anti-protester came and stuck his sign into this mix. His sign portrayed a war recruiting Uncle Sam, scowling, pointing out at the crowd. "If you won't defend your rights, don't complain when you lose them," it said. 

Demonstrators said they were making the same point, but the different was that the right to walk down the street is more intrinsic than the one to own something like a gun, especially an AK-47. They're also asking this question: How is it that our government has a thorough system that documents the vehicles each one of us drives, but acts as though it can't do the same thing with guns? No one believes we could live in absolute safety or enforce every rule, but isn't this what our government is there to do, to at least try?

Sue Maska lives in Mt. Airy.