On April 16, 2008, the year anniversary of Virginia Tech, I attended the National Lie-In .  It was put on by the Brady Campaign and ProtestEasyGuns.com.  After a few speeches in front of the Supreme Court, participants lied down in front of the Supreme Court for 3 minutes because that is how long it takes to buy a gun in the US.  After that, they marched over to the lawn in front of the Capital to lie down for another 3 minutes.  This was followed by more speeches by people affected by gun violence.  A student injured at Virginia Tech spoke about her experience.  Mothers who lost their children to gun violence spoke.  All had similar messages – the urgency of the issue.  We need to deal with it now because we can not lose any more of our children, brothers, sisters, or parents.  Most focused on common sense measures that we need to take.  For example, background checks.  Any person who tries to buy a gun should need to have a license and be tested so that guns do not get into the hands of people who can not handle them responsibly.  Also, advocates are asking the Supreme Court and Congress to close the Gun Show loophole that allows people to buy guns without being screened. 

In addition to protesting easy gun access, the event was held to honor the Virginia Tech students lost last year.  Students from Virginia Tech came and held signs saying “I’m here for the 32 Virginia Tech students who can not be here.” 

But what was so inspiring to me was to see young people and old people coming together to fight for something they all believe in.  There were people of all ages.  Children with their parents, college students, mothers, and grandparents.  As great as is it to see young people getting involved, sometimes, it’s even greater to see all people come together.