-Caveat Lector- >From today's Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/news/metro/moms14_20010214.htm ) Soccer moms enlist in battle over guns Michigan's CCW fight takes fun out of games at metro business February 14, 2001 BY TAMARA AUDI FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER With its green indoor turf, a parking lot that could double as a minivan showroom and a popular soccer clinic for toddlers called Wee Kickers, Total Soccer in Wixom seemed an unlikely battlefield for the national gun debate. But it was there on a Friday night, as the last games of pickup soccer were ending, that pro-gun forces dealt a blow to gun control. As battles go, it wasn't much to watch. The gun-control soldiers carried petition sheets and pens, and wore sweat suits, ponytails and tight smiles. They spoke in low voices. This is how soccer moms fight. They were defeated by the only group powerful enough to beat them: other soccer moms. Gun-rights mothers threatened to pull their kids off Total Soccer teams if the gun-control mothers -- mostly members of the Million Mom March -- did not stop collecting signatures at the facility for a petition that could overturn Michigan's new concealed-weapons law. The pro-gun mothers used the word "boycott." Petitioners were asked to leave. And Total Soccer learned its lesson. "It was enough to make you think if a company takes a political stand, it's going to hurt you in the long run," said Wendy Woods, a Total Soccer manager. She said the petitioners were well-mannered and friendly. Some were even familiar faces in the tight-knit soccer community. But management said it feared as many as 20 of 600 teams might be eliminated by a boycott. "Whether we support what they're doing or not, it ends up being not worth it." As the gun battle intensifies in Michigan, some of the fiercest fighting is going on in the oddest places: churches, ice rinks, movie theaters, parent- teacher group meetings and Main Street shops. And the most powerful fighters, it turns out, are the women who support these places with their money, time and children. Gun-control advocates have until March 28 to collect 151,000 valid signatures to try to put the concealed-weapons law on a ballot before voters. The newly passed law gives Michigan residents age 21 and older the right to carry concealed weapons with a permit. The law, which takes effect July 1, bans weapons from certain public places, including bars, schools and sports arenas. The Million Mom March is not the only group gathering signatures. The effort is coordinated by People Who Care About Kids, a group organized by Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan. But ever since the Million Mom March grabbed national attention at its Washington, D.C., event last Mother's Day by using motherhood as political currency, women in gun-rights groups have taken on a higher profile. Second Amendment Sisters (SAS), the pro-gun answer to the Million Mom March, has been recruiting women in Michigan. Next month, along with the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, SAS will host a Shop 'n' Shoot weekend in Frankenmuth exclusively for women. So far, about 35 women have signed up for shooting lessons and bargain-shopping. Both sides of the gun debate are tapping feminine instincts. The Web site of the Million Mom March ties into Valentine's Day today with the message "It's A Labor of Love." The SAS site counters with "Happy Valentine's Day! Is your love protected?" Although they were defeated at Total Soccer, the Million Mom March and the concealed-weapons petition are winning on other fronts. Last weekend, petitions were passed out in 50 churches and synagogues in metro Detroit, Duggan said. So far, 125,000 signatures have been collected. And some religious leaders embrace the cause, despite pressure. "There were some people in the congregation who were not happy because they felt we were mixing politics and religion. And one person objected as an NRA member," said the Rev. John Budde, pastor of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Novi. NRA is the National Rifle Association. That hasn't stopped gun-rights proponents from trying to push petitioners out when they see them. The chat room of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners Web site is filled with comments from members looking to thwart petitioners at the businesses where they are collecting signatures. "I don't want to give money to any business that's going against our interests -- and a lot of members feel the same way," said Ross Dykman, the coalition's executive director. Dykman said he has written letters to some businesses. But what has really rattled business owners are complaints from consumers, especially women, said Dykman and representatives for some businesses. So far, gun-control petitioners have been asked to leave Total Soccer, MJR Theaters in Waterford and the Meijer store in Plainwell, near Kalamazoo. A Meijer spokesman said the chain does not allow any group to solicit on its property. The owner of the MJR Theaters chain said he had second thoughts after learning more about the CCW law from gun-rights advocates. "I think in a large degree the Million Moms claim to have a monopoly on the women's point of view and it's very effective when our women members stand up and say that's not the case," Dykman said. Pat Alzady, a member of SAS, said businesses and churches are not the place for political debates. "It's disruptive," she said, adding that SAS only passes out literature at gun shows and other places where they are welcome. Million Mom March members around the country said similar skirmishes are taking place in their communities. At a recent Million Mom March chapter meeting at a church in Wakefield, Mass. -- a Boston suburb where a software designer shot and killed seven coworkers Dec. 26 -- gun-rights supporters picketed carrying pink posters. One of them, a woman, came inside and talked to the group about feeling protected by her gun, said Katina Johnstone, the northeast U.S. regional director for the Million Mom March. In Michigan, the quiet war of e-mails, phone calls, letter-writing and Web sites will soon give way to a more public battle. The groups are to meet May 13 in Lansing. The Million Mom March and the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners plan Mother's Day rallies at the state Capitol. Contact TAMARA AUDI at 313-222-6582. -- ...if raised, whether they could subdue a Nation of Freemen, who know how to prize liberty, and who have arms in their hands? --Delegate Sedgwick, Massachusetts State Representative During the Massachusetts Convention, rhetorically asking if an oppressive standing army could prevail over a citizens' Militia, 1779 <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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