Anti-gun protesters block Chicago freeway

CHICAGO: Hundreds of protesters calling for an end to gun violence in Chicago partially shut down a major freeway in the city on Saturday, restricting traffic as they demanded lawmakers and members of the community do more to stop the bloodshed.Chanting slogans, including “Black Lives Matter!” and “Shut It Down!”, hundreds of demonstrators marched along two of the freeway’s four lanes watched by lines of police.Illinois State Police said agreement was reached with organizers of the protest to allow the demonstrators restricted access to Interstate 94, known as the Dan Ryan Expressway, “to march peacefully for their cause.”Chicago leaders have long struggled to bring down its high murder rate. Even though homicides fell 16 percent last year, the third largest US city still ranked No. 1 in murders, with more than the combined total for New York and Los Angeles, the two largest cities. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel supported the demonstration, saying on Friday, July 6, that it was important to raise awareness. Shortly before the march began, Illinois’s governor, Bruce Rauner, said that Pfleger and other organisers had agreed to limit their demonstration to the highway shoulder, without taking over the road. In a tweet, Pfleger called the assertion a “LIE” and said the protest would go on as planned.Protesters said they hope the march pushes public officials to pass stronger gun control laws and address the underlying causes of gun violence in Chicago.“If Governor Rauner and Mayor Rahm Emanuel can meet in secret to decide to give Amazon a billion dollars,” referring to officials’ attempts to lure the company to Chicago, “they can meet and decide to do something about not only gun violence but inequality,” said attorney Eric Martin White, 50, carrying an American flag.“I’m hoping that this is just a little spark that encourages people to continue to lift their voices and demand a redress of grievances,” he said.Katherine Pisabaj, 19, wore a black halter top to the march to show the scar running down her stomach, where doctors cut her open to remove a bullet that had exploded after she was shot in the back on 25 February in the city’s Logan Square neighbourhood, a hipster enclave that also sees gang violence. Her mother, Yolanda Segura, held a sign calling on President Trump to help Chicago. Pisabaj’s four young nephews joined them, sitting on the hot concrete of the highway as protesters waited for news of the lane closures. “This can’t be a shared experience any more, I don’t want my nephews to have to go through what I went through,” she said. “Now that young people are speaking up and getting involved, we have a lot more power. I don’t think this will be an issue my whole life, we’re going to make a change.”

from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2zlQXo2