Moms from Missouri and Kansas plan protest to make their voices heard on gun violence
By Andy Alcock
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LEAWOOD, Kansas (KMBC) — A group of moms from Missouri and Kansas say they’ve had enough of gun violence and want their voices heard.
The organization ‘Lives on the Line’ is planning a protest at the intersection of 83rd Street and State Line Road from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday morning, during rush hour.
The group was formed about three weeks ago in response to the fatal school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.
A protest, the group’s first major event, was planned to coincide with the 24th anniversary of the mass school shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.
The shooting last week of Ralph Yarl, 16, has also raised interest in the protest.
Group founder and event organizer Annie Noll believe stricter laws are part of the answer to gun violence.
But she says it’s not the entire solution.
“We choose to end gun violence not because it is easy but because it is hard, and our kids are worth it. We want brilliant solutions, and we need all of our lawmakers in on it,” Noll said.
Parents are encouraged to wear or bring other items identifying their children’s schools.
The idea is to show clout from school districts in both Kansas and Missouri.
Protesters are expected to line both sides of State Line Road, rain or shine.
“We want to unify people across the city to just tell our leaders, listen, we need change,” Anna Dudenhoeffer Simpson, a mother who lives in Missouri, said.
Hope Community Church on the Kansas side of State Line Road and 83rd is not an event sponsor.
But church leaders agreed to provide parking for the protest.
“Lives on the Line” currently has about 500 members on its Facebook page and another 400 on Instagram.
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