Two Leading Gun Control Groups Merge in U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of America's leading gun control groups
said on Thursday it would merge with the Million Mom March, a grass-
roots movement of mothers who organized a massive rally last year
against gun violence.

The Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and
the Million Mom March said the two organizations would officially
merge on Oct. 1, making the mothers' group a part of the Brady group.

Under the agreement, the Million Mom March will be known as the
``Million Mom March, United with the Brady Campaign and the Brady
Center.''

``This alliance sends a clear message that the gun control movement
is uniting and targeted,'' said Sarah Brady, head of the Brady
Campaign, which changed its name from Handgun Control Inc. earlier
this month to honor Sarah and her husband Jim.

Jim Brady was critically wounded by a .22 caliber bullet that hit him
in the forehead during an assassination attempt on former President
Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) on March 30, 1981, when Brady was
his press secretary.

Sarah Brady said by forming the alliance with the Million Mom March,
both groups were sending a strong message to Congress that people
across America wanted stricter gun laws.

``It's not until these members (in Congress) hear from their own
constituents that they really act. And now, they are not going to be
able to say no to this formidable group,'' she said, referring to the
mothers.

Donna Dees-Thomases founded the Million Mom March and helped to
organize a massive rally in Washington on Mother's Day last year to
protest gun violence in America, which claims nearly 30,000 lives
every year.

``If we moms can push 9 pound (4 kg) babies through our bodies, some
of them with heads as big as bowling balls, surely we can push
legislation through the halls of Congress,'' said Dees-Thomases at a
news conference with the Brady group.

Since last year's rally, which attracted about 750,000 people on the
Mall, the Million Mom March has extended to 230 chapters across the
country.

However, it lacked a central organizational base and its head office
closed earlier this year. The merger will provide the mothers' group
with help on the national level and give it more lobbying clout on
Capitol Hill.

Million Mom March chapters will continue to exist and the Brady
Campaign board will now have three members from the mothers' group.