Moms Urge Lawmakers T0 Pass "Smarter" Gun Laws

Ft. Lauderdale (CBS4) - More than 200 moms from 30 states will walk the halls of Capitol Hill Wednesday to demand lawmakers do more to toughen gun laws.

South Florida mother of three Robin Leader-Landau flew to Washington D.C. Tuesday night to participate in "Moms Take the Hill."

"I felt at this point I had to do something. I had to get involved. It's a public health issue. It's imperative that we save our nation's children," she said.

Leader-Landau said their goal is to prevent another massacre of children like the one in Newtown, Connecticut.

"I lost a friend to gun violence when I was in college," she said. "I've had patients that were impacted by gun violence."

The mothers taking are asking lawmakers to ban weapons that can fire more than 10 rounds.  They're also seeking tougher background checks and mandatory reporting of large ammunition purchases to the ATF.

"We're not looking to ban guns, were not anti-second amendment. We just want smarter gun laws" Leader-Landau said.

Mothers from South Florida will visit with members of Congress from our area and participate in a Wednesday afternoon news conference with Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

"In a country where eight children are shot and killed every day, it is imperative that Congressional representatives hear directly and frequently from American mothers," said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. "As moms, we will remain focused on the safety of our children rather than be influenced or even intimidated by powerful gun industry lobby groups. We will not wait for one more horrific mass shooting of our children for legislators to wake up and finally pass needed laws that we know will make a difference."

Learn more about the movement of concerned mothers by visiting www.momsdemandaction.org.