Only 74 days have passed in 2018, but according to the Gun Violence Archive, there have already been 45 mass shootings in the United States.

The deadliest of these shootings and the most publicized has been that of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people lost their lives. This event has resulted in a large push for gun control reform from the affected students themselves, as well as from groups in communities such as Evanston, Illinois.

On Feb. 28, local organizations Dear Evanston, Leadership Evanston and Indivisible Evanston partnered with Moms Demand Action to travel to Springfield, rallying for the passing of Senate Bill 1657: Gun Dealer Licensing.

BILL BACKGROUND

As introduced, SB1657 requires a license for gun dealers provided by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. It also would create the Gun Dealer Licensing Board to enforce the bill and establishes employment qualifications, according to the Illinois General Assembly website.

This bill was first introduced by Senator Don Harmon in 2003. It has been reintroduced every year until it made it through the Senate last April, with the House vote scheduled for Feb. 28.

“There’s a deeper reason we’re acting now, and that’s why [Moms Demand Action] is here,” Senator Harmon said in a speech during the rally. “The moms who organized after Sandy Hook are on their feet and ready this time to demand action. [The moms] are the reason that politicians are finally getting in gear and taking this up.”

Members of Moms Demand Action gather outside the statehouse before the rally. During the rally, several senators and survivors made speeches to the crowd. Ellise Shafer/Medill

MOMS MOBILIZE

Moms Demand Action is a nationwide gun control advocacy group that was started after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. Betsy Storm, the leader of the Evanston chapter of Moms Demand Action, said that they are not anti-gun, but anti-violence and pro-safety. As a result, they are working to educate people nationwide on gun safety through programs such as Be SMART, which is taught at schools and community organizations.

In a speech made on the bus ride to Springfield, Storm emphasized that it is common sense for gun dealers to be licensed.

“I did not know that my dog groomer needed a license but a gun dealer did not,” Storm said. “I found that absolutely shocking and I think most of us do.”

SB1657 passed in the House of Representatives and was sent to Governor Bruce Rauner on March 1 to be signed. On March 13, Rauner vetoed the bill, forcing advocates of gun control legislation back to square one.

The Illinois gubernatorial election will take place on Nov. 6, with gun control looking to be one of the main issues surrounding candidates’ platforms.

Gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy’s running mate Ra Joy was at the rally with the group Purpose Over Pain and as a survivor, having lost his son to gun violence last year. Joy said that the passing of common sense gun laws is something he and Kennedy are putting at the forefront of their campaign.

“We are pushing hard for the Commander Paul Bauer Act which will prohibit the large capacity magazines,” Joy said. “We’re supporting a measure that would increase the age from 18 to 21 to purchase weapons and we’re here to build support for other measures that will protect communities and save lives across the state.”

STUDENTS STEP UP

At the rally, there was much praise given to the Parkland teenagers who have been standing up for gun control reform over the past month. As a result, Moms Demand Action has created a new branch to encourage youth activism on this issue: Students Demand Action.

Sixteen-year-old Augustus Steinberg, a sophomore at Richwoods High School in Peoria, attended the rally with his mother. After the Parkland shooting, he started a Students Demand Action club at his school. He plans to focus his efforts on involving students more in the passing of gun reform legislation.

However, Peoria is not the only place in Illinois where student voices are being heard and encouraged. The Student Senate at Evanston Township High School has organized a school-wide walkout scheduled to take place on March 14.

The Student Senate had their final meeting in preparation for the walkout on March 8, where they discussed logistics, set a time for a sign making party and finalized the itinerary for the walkout. It is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and will consist of student speakers, a moment of silence and time dedicated to calling Illinois representatives to encourage gun control legislation.

Senior and Student Senate President Emma Stein expressed the importance of the walkout not just for ETHS students, but Evanston as a whole.

“It’s an issue that has touched our community, recently and in the past,” Stein said. “So it’s near and dear to our hearts, and also it’s a great way to get students involved in activism at a young age.”

EVANSTON EFFECTS

Nina Kavin, the organizer of the trip to Springfield, confirmed Stein’s sentiments. The ways in which gun violence affects Evanston inspired her to start the Facebook page Dear Evanston, an open forum for Evanston residents to express their thoughts on issues of race and equity in the community.

“When Dear Evanston started, it was as an examination of youth gun violence, but it quickly became telling stories about people in Evanston who often don’t get their voices heard,” Kavin said.

The most recent death related to gun violence in Evanston was that of Yakez Semark, who was shot on Feb. 9 over a small amount of marijuana.

“If there hadn’t been a gun there, it would have never happened. My heart just breaks for Yakez Semark and his family and his friends, but the two kids who killed him – they’re kids too and their lives are forever changed,” Kavin said. “I have a huge amount of empathy for them and for their families. We have to remember that there are victims on both sides of a gun.”

For Kavin, the passing of gun control legislation goes much deeper than just a change in law.

“It’s the availability of the weapons which obviously we are trying to fix, but it’s also just a whole social issue about racism and what racism here has done to young people,” Kavin said. “I think we have to get closer to people we don’t know to really find empathy and understanding of who these kids are and what it is that moves them to arm themselves.”

Although the Parkland students have brought awareness to the issue of gun control and sparked student walkout movements across the country, Kavin wants others to recognize the inequality that comes with their voices being heard.

“What really frustrates me is that it took a wealthy, probably predominantly white community of kids who have the privileges and the luxury to be able to speak out,” Kavin said. “I mean, they’re amazing kids and they’re courageous and I admire them, but black kids have been suffering and struggling with gun violence for years and no one has listened to them.”

However, efforts are being made across Evanston to amend the issue of gun violence in the community. Curt’s Cafe, located on Central St. and Dempster St., provides employment and social services to young adults in the Evanston area who have had trouble with the law, and the James B. Moran Center works to expunge prison records for young adults so that they can get jobs.

“The whole aim [of Curt’s Cafe and the Moran Center] is to help prevent gun violence, to provide opportunity, education, hope and training to people so that they feel like they’re worthwhile; so that they know that there’s more to life than just their block,” Kavin said. “I’ve learned a lot about the black community the past two and a half years and I was amazed at how much I didn’t know. I think the closer we come to each other, the more we understand and there’s more of a will to recognize these issues and fix them.”