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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/west/chi-gunshop_07aug07,1,2819446.story?ctrack=4&cset=true
Ministers face trial in gun protest
Jackson, Pfleger vow to keep up pressure on Riverdale shop
August 7, 2007
Surrounded by ministers, anti-gun activists and two mothers who recently
lost a child to gun violence, Reverends Jesse Jackson and Michael Pfleger
said Monday they will keep the pressure on a Riverdale gun shop, even as
they head to trial on trespassing charges.
The ministers spoke outside the Markham courthouse, where they appeared on
charges of trespassing stemming from a June protest at Chuck's Gun Shop and
a confrontation with owner John Riggio.
At Monday's hearing, which lasted just a few minutes, attorneys for Jackson
and Pfleger asked for a jury trial, and a date was set for Nov. 26.
"We were not guilty of trespassing," Jackson said to several dozen
demonstrators Monday. "We're guilty of trying to stop the gun flow."
During the confrontation, Riggio complained to police about the ministers,
and they were taken into custody.
Jackson and Pfleger continued to criticize gun laws as lax and gun
manufacturers and sellers, whom they blame for violence in Chicago.
"We want sensible gun laws," Jackson said. "You don't hunt with M-16s. You
blow holes in tanks with those weapons. They were built just to kill
people."
In recent months, Jackson and Pfleger, who have called for a statewide ban
on assault weapons, have been holding rallies and demonstrations to
highlight the toll gun violence has taken on Chicago youths. Assault weapons
are banned in Chicago, but the ministers say the law is useless because
people buy them at shops, like Chuck's, in the inner-ring suburbs, then
bring them into the city. "They don't manufacture guns in the ghetto,"
Jackson said. "They make the guns, they grow the drugs. ... We go to jail
and get killed from them."
Pfleger said the arrest was an attempt to intimidate them. "We're not going
anywhere. We're going to step it up," he told supporters.
Riggio appeared at the hearing but did not speak. He declined to comment
afterward.
Also present was Clara Allen, mother of a 21-year-old Northern Illinois
University student who was fatally shot July 20 on the South Side. Allen
said the death of her daughter, Dominique Willis, while she was home on
summer break, has spurred her to get involved.
"I will not quit," she said. "I lost my child. When will it end?"
Annette Nance-Holt, the mother of Blair Holt, spoke to the same issue about
her 16-year-old son, who was gunned down on a CTA bus in May while trying to
save a friend. His murder, which occurred in the early afternoon, caused
hundreds of leaders and residents to rally for solutions.
"We shouldn't have to live with gun violence," Nance-Holt said. "No one
should have to be in and out of court because their child was killed. I'm
here to keep that from happening, if I can."
Ministers face trial in gun protest
Jackson, Pfleger vow to keep up pressure on Riverdale shop
August 7, 2007
Surrounded by ministers, anti-gun activists and two mothers who recently
lost a child to gun violence, Reverends Jesse Jackson and Michael Pfleger
said Monday they will keep the pressure on a Riverdale gun shop, even as
they head to trial on trespassing charges.
The ministers spoke outside the Markham courthouse, where they appeared on
charges of trespassing stemming from a June protest at Chuck's Gun Shop and
a confrontation with owner John Riggio.
At Monday's hearing, which lasted just a few minutes, attorneys for Jackson
and Pfleger asked for a jury trial, and a date was set for Nov. 26.
"We were not guilty of trespassing," Jackson said to several dozen
demonstrators Monday. "We're guilty of trying to stop the gun flow."
During the confrontation, Riggio complained to police about the ministers,
and they were taken into custody.
Jackson and Pfleger continued to criticize gun laws as lax and gun
manufacturers and sellers, whom they blame for violence in Chicago.
"We want sensible gun laws," Jackson said. "You don't hunt with M-16s. You
blow holes in tanks with those weapons. They were built just to kill
people."
In recent months, Jackson and Pfleger, who have called for a statewide ban
on assault weapons, have been holding rallies and demonstrations to
highlight the toll gun violence has taken on Chicago youths. Assault weapons
are banned in Chicago, but the ministers say the law is useless because
people buy them at shops, like Chuck's, in the inner-ring suburbs, then
bring them into the city. "They don't manufacture guns in the ghetto,"
Jackson said. "They make the guns, they grow the drugs. ... We go to jail
and get killed from them."
Pfleger said the arrest was an attempt to intimidate them. "We're not going
anywhere. We're going to step it up," he told supporters.
Riggio appeared at the hearing but did not speak. He declined to comment
afterward.
Also present was Clara Allen, mother of a 21-year-old Northern Illinois
University student who was fatally shot July 20 on the South Side. Allen
said the death of her daughter, Dominique Willis, while she was home on
summer break, has spurred her to get involved.
"I will not quit," she said. "I lost my child. When will it end?"
Annette Nance-Holt, the mother of Blair Holt, spoke to the same issue about
her 16-year-old son, who was gunned down on a CTA bus in May while trying to
save a friend. His murder, which occurred in the early afternoon, caused
hundreds of leaders and residents to rally for solutions.
"We shouldn't have to live with gun violence," Nance-Holt said. "No one
should have to be in and out of court because their child was killed. I'm
here to keep that from happening, if I can."
