WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- A few thousand women and a handful of men came to Washington Sunday for the second Million Mom March, urging President Bush to renew the federal ban on assault weapons.
The Mother's Day march was the largest pro-gun control event since the first Million Mom March in 2000. But that one attracted hundreds of thousands of women, including celebrities and politicians.
Organizers told the Washington Post that they expected a smaller turnout this time, describing the march as the kickoff of a nationwide campaign.
The federal law banning assault weapons expires Sept. 13. During the presidential campaign four years ago, Bush promised renewal.
"We are laser-beam focused on this," Donna Dees-Thomases, the public relations consultant who came up with the idea for the 2000 march, told the newspaper. "That's what he said he was going to do, and that's what we're going to hold him to."
Jesse Jackson addressed the crowd on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
