On Monday, May 26, 2008, Memorial Day evening, eight teenagers were shot in and around Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem (see USA Today). And on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, community activists and the mothers of the gun shot victims held a press conference to urge a stop to the violence and stricter gun control laws.

The New York City police have been lobbying Congress for years for stricter national gun laws (guns are bought in the South and smuggled into New York). But Congress, which has been in "paid off" by the gun lobby in the form of campaign contributions, has turned a deaf ear to their pleas. Perhaps these Congressmen who are so anti-gun-control should try to explain their position to Mrs. Eugenia Stinson and Mrs. Jean Royster Hills.

 

Eugenia Stinson (Mother of Gun Shot Victim Marcus Stinson,
Jean Royster Hills and Mr. Jackie Rowe-Adams
(Co-Founder of Stop Another Violent Event)

Eugenia Stinson and Jean Royster Hills Cry for Their Children

Ms. Jackie Rowe-Adams, The Reverand Ronald E. Sullivan and
Mrs. Eugenia Stinson Speak at the Press Conference

Activists Hold Hands in Prayer

Calvin Hunt and Mr. Cruz Hold Signs in Support of Gun Control Laws

At a different anti-gun rally on May 31, 2008 at Marcus Garvey Park, Angelo took this beautiful photograph of little Leila Melendez who wants all of us to "Help Stop the Gun Violence."

Leila Melendez