Jun 28, 2008 7:29 am US/Central
Rev. Jackson Slams Gun Ruling, Vows New Effort
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
Nearly 13 hours after her 16-year-old son was shot in a drive-by, Denise Dixon stood beside the Rev. Jesse Jackson, pleading for gun regulations in the wake of the controversial Supreme Court decision that could threaten Chicago's ban on handguns.
"My 16-year-old is battling for the use of his right hand as we speak because somebody decided to pull out a gun and shoot him," Dixon said. "I don't know what's going on in this city. But I know we're going to have to do something about our babies bleeding in the streets."
Dixon's son Ian was shot in the arm Friday in an apparent drive-by near his home in the 800 block of West 95th Street, police said.
Dixon put a face on the aggressive new campaign Jackson announced at Rainbow PUSH headquarters Friday. He vowed to stop gun stores from setting up shop in Chicago's neighborhoods, particularly near churches and schools.
Jackson called the Supreme Court's ruling of the District of Columbia's handgun ban as unconstitutional a "reckless interpretation of the Second Amendment" -- and one that Chicago doesn't have to accept.
"We must fight for the legal restrictions on where these gun shops can be," Jackson said. "We will fight the easy access to guns and gun flow. We can picket and boycott stores that can endanger us."
He was joined by some of Chicago's most prominent religious leaders, including St. Sabina's Rev. Michael Pfleger, who had a fiery message for the Supreme Court.
"Obviously, the Supreme Court in their ivory tower is really disconnected," Pfleger said. "They're so disconnected that they cannot hear the cries of parents who are burying their children."
Dixon said her son was in the garage testing a new chain he had put on his younger brother's bike when he was shot.
"I can still hear him," Dixon said. "He just kept saying: 'Mama, I didn't do nothing.'"
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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