Most people are aware of the Million Man March , the 1995 Washington, D.C. rally that supporters described as a call for black men to take responsibility for their own lives by fighting the scourges of drugs, violence and unemployment. But now there’s a new cause brewing, prompting thousands of women and their families from all over the country – including Hudson County – to form the Million Mom March, a rally for “sensible gun laws and safe kids.” The march is set to take place on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14, on the Mall in Washington D.C., and busloads of sympathizers are expected to attend. According to the local organizers of the march, their goal is not to ban guns, but to urge Congress to enact a law requiring that all gun owners be licensed, registered and go through mandatory safety training. Hoboken resident and single mother Liz Cohen immediately decided to get involved with the march after reading about it in a New York paper in September. After contacting the Million Mom March headquarters, she was asked to organize a local group in Hoboken to participate. She has since developed a group of mothers in Hudson County who will be departing on a bus from Hoboken City Hall, located at First and Washington streets, on May 14 at 6 a.m. The bus has a 49-passenger capacity and is already full, but there is a waiting list. Cohen said that if the list expands to more than 49 people, then a second bus will be chartered. “This is an issue I’ve always felt strongly about,” said Cohen last week. “So many people have been killed by guns, and not just recently. It has practically become an epidemic and I want to do my part to help stop it.” As an elementary school teacher in Summit, Cohen said that she’s horrified with the way guns have made their way into schools. “School used to be the one safe place you could send your kids, and now it’s one of the scariest,” said Cohen. “You can’t protect your kids while they’re in school, and with all the headlines on school shootings, I think everyone knows that guns are in schools all over the country.” Jersey City resident Barbara Gist has particularly grown passionate about gun control ever since her son was murdered in 1995 with a 9mm handgun. Gist’s son, Whitney “Reggie” Gist, was shot through the windshield of his car while driving home after his younger sister’s birthday party at 11 p.m. Whitney was approached by his 17-year-old shooter while stopping at a red light on Martin Luther King Drive. Whitney was a 1994 graduate of Lincoln High School and a student at Hudson County Community College. “I was devastated, and I’m still devastated about what happened to my son,” said Gist. “These kids have short tempers and react violently. They don’t realize that a bullet means a life. Not everyone should have access to a gun, and if I can save one life by delivering this message, then it means a lot to me.” Gist said that her son’s killer was sentenced to serve 30 years to life without parole, but maintained that it did little to ease the loss. “No matter what he got, it doesn’t bring my son back,” she said. “The world keeps getting worse because it’s easier for people to get a gun and shoot someone these days than to get a situation under control by talking. If there was better control over guns, my son’s killer wouldn’t have had the gun to shoot my son. So a march like this helps people to wake up and hopefully the country will see that we need to get a better grip on guns.” Cohen, Gist and all the local participants said that they hope that their presence will make an impact on the country. “We hope that federal legislators will sit up and pay attention,” said Cohen. “The country needs better laws on gun control, like thorough background checks and only allowing the manufacturers to produce guns with safety locks.” The cost of the trip is $25 per person, but Cohen said that the group would subsidize the trip for individuals who find the fare too expensive. For more information on the march, call 656-1348 or (888) 989-MOMS, or visit the official website: www.millionmommarch.com.