Moms meet in Washington to urge action on gun control

Sonja Woods chokes up during the “Moms Take The Hill” event on May 7 in Washington as she speaks about her daughter, Catherine, who was murdered at age 26. (Photo by Justine McDaniel, News21)

By Sarah Ferris

The man who killed Sonja Woods’ 26-year-old daughter had once been committed to a state mental hospital and was not legally allowed to own a gun.

After three failed attempts to purchase one, 32-year-old Justin Schiller found a local hardware store that sold him a semiautomatic pistol without a background check.

Weeks later, Schiller fired 14 bullets into the side of Catherine Wood’s car, killing her almost instantly. He took his own life a day later.

Sonja Woods, who lives in Miles City, Montana, shared her story with lawmakers for the first time this month as part of a weeklong lobbying push for stricter gun laws called Moms Take The Hill.

“A lot of people believe that if someone is mentally adjudicated, they’re put on the list right away. Well, the courts don’t do that, and that’s a big part of the loophole,” Woods said in between meetings with legislators.

More than 100 advocates from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America – representing states as far as California and Washington – descended on Capitol Hill with plans to meet with nearly 40 legislators.

Topping their agenda: stronger background checks and protections for domestic violence victims.

Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts speaks ahead of the group’s meetings with legislators Wednesday. (Photo by Justine McDaniel, News21)

Shannon Watts, a 42-year-old mom who founded the group less than a week after the Newtown shootings, said members refuse to be discouraged by the failure of last year’s background checks bill.

“We’re here to let our members of Congress know that while they continue to drag their feet here in Washington, we’re back at home, educating and mobilizing voters around gun sense,” Watts told a packed congressional conference room.

Moms Demand Action – which began as a Facebook page and now counts 150,000 volunteers in every state – recently merged with the well-funded Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Both are now part of the nation’s largest coalition to prevent gun violence, Everytown For Gun Safety, which received $50 million this year from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

That financial backing is crucial, Watts said.

“For the first time in our country’s history, there is a well-financed and formidable force positioned to take on the Washington gun lobby both in our home states and here on the Hill,” Watts said.