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Little Neck woman lobbies for gun control

By Kathianne Boniello

Joan Gold has only few weeks to mobilize people all over Queens for her cause, and the Little Neck woman said she is feeling the pressure.

“I'm kind of overwhelmed,” said the mother of two. “I need to really put it out there and ask people to please get involved in any way they can.”

Gold is asking people in Queens to get involved in the Million Mom March, a growing national political movement that is calling for a “common sense gun control.” The highlight of the “We're looking for a few good moms” campaign will be a march in Washington, DC. on Mother's Day, May 14, Gold said, to pressure Congress to pass gun control legislation.

“Queens needs representation [at the march],” Gold said. “Queens has got to get people there.”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) and state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) have thrown their support behind the event and its goals.

On its Web site, www.millionmommarch.com, the organizers of the group describe their mission as one of “educating our children and our country about the life-threatening danger of guns.”

“While we acknowledge that guns may be necessary for hunting, law enforcement, and national security,” the Web site said, “the proliferation of firearms intended for one purpose only – killing another human being – has become untenable.”

The group is calling for licensing of all handgun owners and the registration of all handguns, limiting the number of guns a person can buy to one per month, child-proof guns, and background checks of potential owners.

Gold, who has lived in Little Neck for about 15 years, said she heard about the march on television. She was only recently appointed as the Queens representative for the Million Mom March.

Making specific reference to the Columbine High School shootings – the April 20, 1999 slaying of 12 students and a teacher in Littleton, Colo. by two other students who also killed themselves – Gold said she was inspired to get involved.

“A lot of people are just kind of fed up at what's going on with the guns and the schools,” she said. “We want our children to be safe – we want everybody to be safe.”

Schumer said “there is perhaps no more haunting picture than that of a mother mourning her child shot down by gunfire. That is why I've fought repeatedly for common-sense gun control that would prevent guns from falling into the hands of children and criminals. These mothers serve as a poignant reminder of what this debate is all about – the safety of our children.”

A spokesman for Padavan said the senator, who was the first state legislator to introduce legislation restricting the sale of guns in New York, was also supportive of the Million Mom March.

“He thinks that what they're doing is great,” spokesman Ed DeCosmo said. “He's completely supportive and would be pleased to work with the Queens chapter and do anything they would need him to do.”

Gold said she is looking for volunteers to help with all aspects of the campaign in Queens, including people to hand out fliers, coordinate buses, advertise, recruit, and march, as well as businesses that would distribute information about the cause.

“The whole neighborhood should just pitch in on stuff like this,” she said. “It just makes sense.”

Gold hopes to have a meeting of Queens volunteers in early March.

“This is all grass roots,” she said.

Anyone looking for information about the movement can go to the group's Web site www.millionmommarch.com. Those who would like to volunteer or ask questions can do so by calling 781-4971, or e-mailing Gold at [email protected].