By Bill Zeeble, KERA reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-622460.mp3
Dallas, TX – Zeeble: A multi-ethnic mix of religious and elected leaders led the call against violence. Also marching - gun shot victims and their relatives, including newly elected Dallas council woman Caroline Davis. The representative of this district lost her relative 3 years ago.
Carolyn Davis: The guy came from his own apartment and said I'm going to deal with you. And he shot him in the back of the head. I know, because he was my first cousin. Gun violence is awful it destroys life. Gun violence must end, it must end, stop!
Zeeble: Protesters acknowledge the success of organizations like the National Rifle Association, which has lobbied for the constitutional right to own and carry weapons. But they want tougher enforcement of existing laws, saying gun proliferation adds to gun deaths. The Reverend Peter Johnson marched with Doctor King in Washington 44 years ago.
Peter Johnson: It's very frustrating for me, that as a society we're going backwards. One of the great Martin Luther King legacies isn't I have a dream, but the legacy of non-violence. If there's anything we've lost regarding doctor Kings legacy its his commitment to non -violence. That militarism was destructive to our nation, our society and to our world.
Zeeble: Johnson said he knows anti gun protesters are criticized as too liberal but added conservatives should take note, that a single bullet wound costs Dallas taxpayers up to 85 thousand dollars. Bill Zeeble, KERA news