Clinton Hill Dad to Discuss Gun Control in D.C. Wednesday

Members from the greater New York City chapter of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America will join more than 200 members from 30 states to participate "Moms Take the Hill" Wednesday.  

Brooklyn-based mothers and fathers will travel to Washington, D.C. to discuss gun sense in America and appeal to their representatives for a change in regulations in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Elected officials including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and representatives from California, Connecticut and New York are currently scheduled to attend.

Attending is Clinton Hill filmmaker, producer and father of three John Philp, who said he is invested in making sure legislators know their constituents care about the issue. "I've always been concerned with gun violence and the lunacy around the debate in this country," he said. 

A native of Australia, Philp is hopeful he can inject into the American gun debate his take on solutions that Australians have enacted. 

"We had a 16- to 17-year period from mid '80s to the late '90s where we had a rash of over 13 mass shootings," Philp said. He noted the tipping point came after 35 people were killed and 23 wounded in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which remains one of the deadliest shootings worldwide committed by a single person. 

"After that event, people knew things had to change," he said. "A new conservative Prime Minister was elected, and though there was some push back, [people] knew they had to do something."

Rule-makers went to work, instituting universal background checks for those buying guns, enacting a ban on certain rifles, establishing a gun buy-back program and tightening-up rules for storing guns.

"It was a comprehensive overhaul basically, and it was very successful if you consider that in 17 years there hasn't been a single mass killing in Australia," Philp said. "That's a telling tale in gun control."

Come Wednesday, Philp plans to share this information with those who will listen. "[Wednesday] is really about making our voices heard," he said. "I'm there to make my voice heard, to make sure that legislators know that it's not just gun lobbyists involved."

Specifically, Philp and his compatriots will appeal to their Congressional representatives to ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, require background checks for all gun and ammunition purchases, report the sale of large quantities of ammunition to the ATF and ban online sales of ammunition.

Fellow parents from Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the suburbs attending include Candace Reid, a single mother of two who lives in Park Slope. Reid grew up in a house with guns and supports the right to bear arms, but not military assault-style rifles and magazine clips. 

Her father is an avid hunter and was a member of the NRA for many years. After Wayne LaPierre’s post-Newtown press conference, her father said, "The NRA does not speak for me." Reid agreed, saying: "Not for him, not for me and not for the majority of Americans who support sensible legislation."

Also attending is Jenny Herdman Lando, a schoolteacher and mother of two daughters who lives in Astoria, Queens. Lando said the mass shooting at Sandy Hook spurred her into activism. "The mass murder of 26 children and educators in Newtown changed me," she said.

"In a country where eight children are shot and killed every day, it is imperative that Congressional representatives hear directly and frequently from American mothers,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Philp agreed with Watts, and noted that the organization welcomes anyone interested in the cause.

"It was mothers who began this organization, and they are and will be the driving force behind it, but it's not just mothers," he said, jokingly pointing out that he, in fact, is not a mom. "Theres all sorts of people in this coalition and everyone is welcome."

"We know this is a long fight," he continued. "It's not going to be solved by a couple of marches here and there; if you're interested in taking action, there's always a series of campaigns going on."