Charles City woman organizing park rally to support anti-gun-violence movement

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

A Charles City woman, inspired by the activism of young people working to end gun violence, wants to do her part to bring attention to the movement.

Susan Strong, a community volunteer who has been active in social causes before, is working with friends to organize a gathering at Central Park in Charles City next Saturday afternoon to support the “March For Our Lives” events taking place nationally.

The event will begin at 1 p.m. on March 24, Strong said. It is being organized by “a couple of us that want to support the kids and are against the violence that guns do.”

She said the event is open to anyone who wants to show up, and no advance registration is necessary. She talked to the city police and street departments and was told “as long as we’re not selling anything we’re fine.”

A moment of silence lasting one minute and seven seconds will be held in remembrance of the 17 students and adults who were killed in the shooting Feb. 14 at a Parkland, Florida, high school.

“I hope to have one or two petitions there — ban assault weapons, or raise the age (to buy guns) to 21, I’m not sure. I want to get the petitions to Grassley and Ernst and King,” she said, referring to the state’s U.S. senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst and the area’s congressional representative, Steve King.

“Maybe if we can get some signatures they’ll listen to us,” Strong said.

Strong said she was inspired by the efforts of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the shooting, and by kids all over the country who are demanding action from their political leaders.

Their activism has already had one effect: the Florida Legislature passed a gun law that institutes a three-day waiting period to buy a gun, raises the age to purchase any gun to 21, outlaws bump stocks and provides funding for mental health and school safety measures.

“I have grandkids,” Strong said. “I want them to be able to go to the movies, to go to school, and feel safe.”

She said she has six grandchildren and two step-grandchildren, from age 5 to 18, “all over the country.”

According to the March For Our Lives website, “on March 24, the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets to demand that their lives and safety become a priority, that we end gun violence in our schools and communities.”

More than 750 events have been scheduled worldwide, the organization says, in addition to the main march in Washington, D.C., that it estimates could bring half a million people or more to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.

As of Thursday evening, the organization has already raised more than $3.3 million toward a $3.5 million goal in a GoFundMe page to pay for march expenses and to go to families of the shooting victims.

Strong said she is trying to spread the word about the event in Central Park over social media and with local media, and hopes anyone interested will stop by.