PHILADELPHIA — The mothers of children killed at the hands of law enforcement or gun violence, also known as “Mothers of the Movement,” are among the speakers to be featured at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night.
Hillary Clinton first became acquainted with these women early on in her campaign, and has brought them up in conversation and out on the campaign trail multiple times over the past year, as the issue of gun violence and police brutality has become more acute in the United States.
“When no other candidate would listen to us, Clinton did. Nobody reached out to us. Nobody listened to us,” Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, said at the “Breaking Down Barriers” forum in February. She added, “Secretary Clinton supported us and we have to stand and support her.”
During the convention Tuesday night, Fulton will be joined by: Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland; Lucy McBath, mother of Jordan Davis; Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Cleopatra Pendleton, mother of Hadiya Pendleton; Maria Hamilton, mother of Dontre Hamilton; and Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown. The remarks will be a part of the “social justice” portion of the evening.
Members of the group have said Clinton was the first candidate to reach out to them, and now she often calls and writes them to check in on how they’re feeling. When they first met, some recalled Clinton taking handwritten notes. Since the group’s endorsement, these women have become the face of Clinton’s push to reduce gun violence. The group also helps the former secretary of state reach out to African-American voters in an effort to bring them to the polls in November.
If elected, Clinton plans to expand background checks, remove legal protections for gun dealers and reduce access to guns for the mentally ill. The former secretary of state often says, “weapons of war have no place on the streets.”
After the recent mass shootings in Orlando, Dallas and Baton Rouge, Clinton has called for increased gun control, but also increased compassion.
As the group sat down with “Good Morning America” on Tuesday prior to their speech, McBath said Clinton is “the first presidential candidate that I’m aware of that has just said, ‘This is a national crisis. It has to be dealt with. Our communities and our families will never be safe unless we deal with gun violence in this country.’ ”
