Twelve
activists from the interfaith group Heeding God's Call who were
arrested at Colosimo's gun shop in Philadelphia in January were
acquitted of all charges in a one-day bench trial in Municipal Court.
Rev. Jim McInire and Rev. David T. embrace after leaving the
court. All were aquitted
Melissa DeLong wiped
a tear from her eye as she
told a Philadelphia judge yesterday the story of a 4-year-old boy
gunned down in Camden last year after being caught in a crossfire
between two men.
T-shirts around the square in front of City Hall.
Rev. Michelle Bartlow of FUMCOG
at the noon support rally.
...
For years I was troubled by the nightly reports of violence and death
on the streets of Philadelphia, and I agonized over the
statistics of
violence in our city. I wondered what could I, as an individual and as
a Christian do in response to the reports I was hearing.
...
Last year I became part of the group, Heeding God’s Call. As a part of
that group, I learned about the Code of
Conduct for Responsible Gun
Dealers that had been signed by Wal-Mart. I also learned that
historically Colisimo’s Gun Shop had been a major source of illegal
guns in this area.
...
So, on Friday, January 16 a little after 2 pm, I rang the buzzer in Mr.
Colisimo’s store. I had a copy of the Code of Conduct in my
pocket and
my purpose was to offer him another opportunity to sign the code. I
rang the buzzer and was refused entry to the store. When it
became
apparent they were not going to let us in, I and the two others with me
sat down in front of the door to the shop.
...