Democratic Reps. Jo Ella Hoye and Linda Featherston, both gun safety advocates who have worked with “Moms Demand Action” in the past, attended a Feb. 8, 2024 rally. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Mary Snipes is mad. She’s been mad since 2018, when her son was shot and killed in Junction City.
“I became the maddest person ever. I am still a mad mom,” Snipes said to the rows of her fellow r ed-shirted “Moms Demand Action” advocates gathered on the second floor of the Statehouse on Thursday. “ I am not the same.”
Snipes recounted her journey of navigating grief to become a gun control advocate as one of several speakers at the annual gun safety event. Advocates chatted with each other before leaving to urge legislators to reject a proposed state constitutional amendment that would protect gun rights and instead implement a safe storage law.
Mary Snipes points to her shirt, which identifies her as a gun violence survivor, during a Feb. 8,2024 rally. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)