The gavel banged. The moment of silence ended. The parents sat back in their chairs. “Next is a motion to recognize National Nurses Week,” the House speaker said. “All in favor?” “Aye!” “A motion to recognize women’s clubs for the important role they play.” “Aye!” “A motion to honor a champion among us, one of our own, the winner of the state peach pie eating contest ...” “Aye!” “A motion to recognize another special guest, here on her vacation, the mother of one of our lawmakers ...” “Let’s go,” Mark said, standing up in the middle of the session, motioning for the other parents to follow. They walked upstairs into a private conference room. “This gets more surreal every day,” Hockley said. “Crazy,” Mark said. How was it, they wondered, that government could roll through its inconsequential daily agenda but then stall for months on an issue like gun control? They had seen polls that showed 80 percent of Delaware residents favored a ban on high-capacity magazines. Ninety percent of Americans wanted universal background checks. But in the months since the shooting in Newtown, only a handful of states with already-stringent gun laws had managed to pass stricter laws. Most states had done nothing, and the U.S. Senate had postponed another vote. “Some of those lawmakers in there didn’t want to look at us,” Mark said. “Just squirming,” Hockley said. “It’s exhausting,” Jackie said, rubbing her eyes.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:57:43 +0000
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