ATLANTA — A group of Atlanta residents are planning a rally Saturday to call for action on gun measures that will follow nationally-organized demonstrations.
Cities around the country on Saturday will see gatherings that call for a ban on assault weapons and other gun measures under the banner of "Mother's Day of Action 2023." Those demonstrations are being organized by the national gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
Atlanta's is planned for Piedmont Park at 2 p.m.
Following that, neighbors plan to organize a more localized rally in the wake of the shooting at a Midtown medical clinic last week that rattled the city and left four women injured and one killed.
It's set to last from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the corner of Virginia and North Highland Avenues.
11Alive's Liza Lucas spoke with several of the organizers in advance of the rally Saturday.
"I can't sit with the feelings that were stirred last week," resident Margaret Allgood said. "I think that, you know, so many of us weren't sure what was going to happen. And our kids were, you know, in this really ambiguous scenario of being in lockdown and proximity to the events of last week."
Atlanta Public Schools placed many schools in the area of the shooting on lockdown as police looked for the alleged gunman, who was later found in Cobb County.
"I think that there was just something about it being so close. That I have to do something," Allgood said. "I've been a supporter for common sense gun laws for a long time. But I can't just sit and do the same status quo things. I have to do something, and I recently have been repeating this quote to myself that fear, the antidote to fear is action. So I just have to act."
Another organizer described how the plan for the rally mushroomed.
"This started with one text in the text thread. It grew and grew, and then there were multiple text threads," she said. "And then we started a group, me, and it's moving to Facebook and Instagram, so it feels like others feel the same way and we're all trying to figure out how to work together to make real change happen. Because we are tired of waiting and giving money and protesting and seeing no change."
One organizer said it was about demonstrating how to "demystify the steps that we can all take to create change."
"So we invite all of our neighbors from across the city or state to join us on Saturday, May 13th at 3:30 at the corner of Virginia and Highland, just to show your support for gun safety and all are welcome," she said.
A flier for the event notes that kids are welcome.