Moms' Lesson Against Guns

By ISADORA MURPHY

Ann Williams cried for three days after a jury found her son’s assailant guilty of second degree murder and now she is a Queens Mother Against Guns (MGA) determined to stop the violence.

"It took three years, 10 months and 28 days to catch him," Williams said.

Curtis Purnell Williams, 28, died instantly at The Scene nightclub in Jamaica, after Charles Minson, 22, shot him 17 times on March 4, 1994. Purnell, as friends called him, worked nights as a security guard at the club. When he told an unruly group to leave the club Minson responded by firing his gun at Purnell. Police apprehended Minson in Richmond, Virginia in 1998.

Purnell’s death left a void in the Rochdale Village community where he had co-founded a recreational group, RISE, which coached boys and girls basketball.

But the greatest pain was felt by Purnell’s four-year-old son, Purnell Jr., and his fiancee, Veronica Dunn, who was going to marry Purnell in July.

The duty of writing Purnell’s obituary was offered to Elizabeth Goldsmith, 51, Purnell’s godmother.

It wasn’t the first time Goldsmith, who lives in Rosedale, suffered a loss.

Her first godson was shot to death in 1988.

Although Goldsmith grieved following her first encounter of a loss due to gun violence, the pain seemed greater the second time around.

It felt like a personal loss because he used to baby-sit for my sons. He became a younger brother to them and an older son to me," said Goldsmith.

As she wrote Purnell’s obituary she felt a need to do something about the violence that was tearing her family apart.

And so Goldsmith, a mother against guns created MAG, a Hollis-based organization for mothers, and others, committed to ending gun violence nationwide.

"Most kids have no leadership in their homes. They feel bored. They have nothing to do with their time. A lot of them are reaching out," Goldsmith explained.

With the guidance of Frank McKanic, a lawyer and friend, Goldsmith took charge of her endeavors and became the president and founder of MAG, a non-profit organization. As her friends heard about MAG they quickly signed on, while City Councilman Thomas White Jr. supported her through funding.

"I think that they are a very worthwhile group of individuals," White said of MAG.

White assisted MAG in obtaining a $10,000 grant that helped the group provide six buses to New York residents attending the Million Mom March in Washington last May.

"We’ve had a number of unfortunate incidents in the district and they need all the support they can get," White said.

Williams, 59, MAG’s current secretary, was one of the first to join.

Her two daughters, Priscilla Paxton, 35, and Phyllis Williams, 37, also became involved.

"I was very much for it. [Goldsmith] was such an inspiration at the time. Working with this organization is what keeps us going," said Williams who lives in Rochdale Village.

MAG’s first vice president, Lorraine Kirkpatrick, 41, from Jamaica, lost a very close friend to gun related violence.

When she first heard about MAG she wondered why someone hadn’t thought of it earlier. "Violence as a result of guns has affected all of our lives in one way or another. My motto is whenever guns get into the hands of the wrong people, wrong things happen," said Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick aspires to become MAG’s chaplain so she can give support and direction to those in need while steering them on a path towards a positive future.

"I want to help society, especially our young people, to overcome the barriers that are limiting them from becoming productive and decent people. In doing that, I believe that we, the older generation, must provide recreational and educational opportunities for them to succeed and to one day see a gun free society," she said.

Until then, Kirkpatrick is finishing classes at the United Christian College in Jamaica in order to obtain her Ph.D., in theology, by May 2001.

MAG’s second vice president, Velma Matthews, 48, and MAG’s public relations representative, Aaron Slaughter, 45, both live and work at Rochdale Village, the second largest co-op housing development in the world.

Slaughter, joined MAG in 1994.

Although he does not have children of his own, he said he is able to empathize with the cause.

"I thought [MAG’s] concept was based on a very simple truth; a mothers desire to protect her children. All parents should take steps like this to protect their children," Slaughter said.

Since then, Slaughter has helped by developing ways to let people know what MAG is about.

One of the ways he is helping to spread the word is through the group’s website which is slated to debut, next month at mothersagainstguns.org, and by implementing the B.U.L.L.E.T program, (Believers, United, Learning, Loving, Enduring Together), which offers kids, from six years old and up, after school alternatives such as tutoring, mentoring, and recreational activities.

B.U.L.L.E.T also provides bereavement counseling and conflict resolution to families. Goldsmith would like to develop chapters of MAG in every state so programs like B.U.L.L.E.T can flourish. Goldsmith authorized one mother to start a chapter of MAG in the Virgin Islands but in Queens, Goldsmith is still in need of more funding. "In order for [B.U.L.L.E.T.] to be successful, we need celebrities and government officials to lend a hand by making contributions."

Since 1994 Goldsmith has primarily operated MAG out of her office at home but recently Williams acquired office space in Queens Ester Temple, in St. Albans.

A groundbreaking ceremony to make the space their national headquarters was scheduled for Sept. 30, however the office is in need of costly renovations, members of the group said.

MAG raises some of its money from donations and membership dues. Individual membership costs $20 and family membership costs $35. MAG has between 250 and 300 members. Still, more donations and government grants would provide MAG with the money to start office renovations.

MAG does not see the government just in terms of finances, but also as a means to help end gun violence. A letter, circulated by MAG to people throughout New York, encouraged parents to vote in the upcoming elections.

"We are urging all persons eligible to get out there and vote. Do this for our young people who deserve a better life and a no nonsense government that will do the right thing in passing common sense gun laws," said Goldsmith.

MAG believes gun laws should be stricter then they are now but that it’s also the responsibility of the parents to make sure they know what is going on in their children’s lives. "Parents must know what their kids are doing at all times. Whatever’s in your home you’re responsible for it," Goldsmith said. That also includes drugs which she said goes hand in hand with guns and violence.

Sometimes when the spotlight falls on drugs, guns and violence, it also falls on the minority community, said Slaughter who feel that the media should take some responsibility for portraying gun violence as a racial issue.

"Often some of the native trends of society may surface in minority communities first and more often," he said. "But eventually the suburban communities discover the same problems exist in their communities as well."

The leaders of MAG all agreed that African Americans, Caucasians and Latinos were all affected by gun violence and they summed up their feelings by saying that guns and bullets have no color.

"MAG truly hopes that all members of our society will support and continue to lobby for legislative control of handguns and curb the violence at hand," Goldsmith added.

To learn more about Mothers Against Guns, write to PO BOX 230332, Hollis, NY 11429 or call 276-5802.

And look for the group on the web @mothersagainstguns.org in the weeks to come.