The Pasadena / San Gabrial Valley Journal News - Black African American Business, Educational and Social News

A Mother’s Day of Action to Protect Children from Gun Violence

"My name is Nardyne Jefferies; my only child, Brishell Jones, was murdered on March 30th, 2010, by a gun. She sent me an email; she'd made reservations . . . for Mother's Day. And I never got my Mother's Day dinner with my daughter. And it's just hard, because all the special moments that we shared, you know—I can't make any more memories with Brishell. And I just miss everything about her . . . and time really doesn't make it any easier—I feel like it just really hurts just as much for me three years and some months later as it did then, because you think about what could have been, and what was supposed to have been, and what should have been.

Enough is enough. I don't know how much more bloodshed has to be spilled on these streets . . . We have to come together. This definitely is not a Black thing, it's not a White thing, it's not a gang thing, it's not an inner-city thing. This is a human thing. And too many humans are losing their lives to gun violence."

This Mother's Day, Nardyne Jefferies was one of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF)'s "Faces of Courage." They are part of a club no mother ever wants to join. Most, like Nardyne, have lost children to gun violence. Nardyne's beautiful daughter Brishell was only 16 when she was killed by bullets from an AK-47 in a drive-by shooting. Others have had spouses or other family members killed or injured by guns or been victims of gun violence themselves and have struggled to help their families deal with the trauma gun violence leaves behind. All of these mothers whose lives have been shattered by gun violence shared their stories in a series of videos developed by CDF and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America as part of a Mother's Day campaign. The campaign is focused on honoring gun violence victims and their families—and taking action so fewer mothers who celebrated Mother's Day last weekend and mourning their own children next year and in years to come. Every year 2,694 children and teens are killed by guns—one child or teen every three hours and 15 minutes.

As part of the campaign, Moms Demand Action has created a Mother's Bill of Rights. It reads:

"We, as mothers, have the absolute right to protect our children from harm. We have the right to know our children are safe from gun violence, from the moment they leave our arms in the morning until they return home later in the day. But the rights of American mothers are under attack by criminals, the gun lobby, and legislators who are unable to stand up for common-sense gun reforms. The right of mothers to protect our children SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.

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