Responding to ‘a desperate need’

Peace advocates fight for an end to gun violence in Philadelphia
By Devin Thomas

It wasn’t until she stood waiting to be fingerprinted at a Philadelphia police station that Mimi Copp, a member of Circle of Hope Broad & Washington (Philadelphia), realized the gravity of her situation. “Lots of things flashed through my mind,” relates Mimi, who had been brought to the station on a misdemeanor charge of defiant trespassin. “What doors are closing to me because of having a criminal record? How would I get bail money?

Misdemeanors meant staying the night in jail, since I’d had to go through the process of seeing the bail commissioner.”

But as the hours passed, Mimi—who had been arrested, along with four others, during a peaceful time of direct action against gun violence on January 14 at Colosimo’s Gun Center in North Philadelphia—“was comforted with the fact that life can be lived out in all sorts of way,” she says.

Mimi recalls, “Biblical characters and historical figures who had been jailed for what they believed started popping in my mind. This all gave me a lot of resolve. I felt empowered. I realized I could confront my fears and follow my faith and conscience."

Mimi had been following her faith and conscience during her arrest, which occurred after she and four others entered Colosimo’s Gun Center and asked the owner, James Colosimo, to sign a code of conduct that would require the shop to employ more stringent measures for tracking gun purchases. Colosimo refused to sign; the group refused to leave. An employee notified the authorities.

“As we waited for the police, we had time to talk with Mr. Colosimo,” Mimi says. “We got to tell him why we were doing what we were doing. He told us why he couldn’t sign the code. We disagreed. But everyone kept talking on and off while we waited.”

When the police arrived, they gave three warnings before the arrests were made. “With the third warning, the captain was trying to frighten us,” Mimi says. “He was saying we didn't want to go to jail because we’d be kept with murders and rapists and we needed to think about our careers, that we’d never get government jobs with records.”

Mimi says she was encouraged by the steadfastness of her fellow advocates. “We never wavered in the midst of these warnings,” she says. “I had a great sense of calm, which I know came from God.”

Mimi and the others were released on bail at 4 a.m. on January 15, after spending approximately 12 hours in jail.

She says that getting arrested “was one way to signify the gravity of the violent situation in Philadelphia. We are in a situation that calls for bold steps to address the killings. I hope my arrest said to something to my fellow Philadelphians—especially kids and teenagers—that I am paying attention, I care, and I will do something about the violence in our city.”

Gathering for peace

Mimi and the others who had been arrested were engaging in nonviolent direct action at Colosimo’s as part of their involvement in Heeding God’s Call: A Gathering on Peace. A multi-denominational conference held in the City of Brotherly Love from January 13–17, 2009, Heeding God’s Call sought “to strengthen [the] witness and work for peace in the world by inspiring hope, raising voices, [and] taking action.”

Members of the Historic Peace Churches—an ecumenical group including the Mennonite Church USA, the Church of the Brethren, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Brethren in Christ, among others—united for the event. Sixteen BIC delegates, including Mimi, attended the conference.

Though Mimi was arrested for her involvement in the action, not all BIC delegates felt that such dramatic action was necessary to communicate their message of peace and reconciliation. For Jeff Miller, associate pastor at Cumberland Valley Brethren in Christ Church (Dillsburg, Pa.), picketing and marching with others during the protest was “a great way of letting our voices be heard.” Jeff, who participated in a second peaceful protest outside Colosimo’s on January 16, suggests, “Our call as peacemakers is not built on passivity, but on creative nonviolent action.”

Harriet Bicksler—a member of the Grantham (Pa.) Brethren in Christ Church and a long-time advocate for peace and justice issues within the denomination—acknowledges that Heeding God’s Call was a reminder of the dedication necessary to make the core value of pursuing peace a persistent part of the BIC witness.

“Our denominational peace witness has ebbed and flowed over the years—perhaps more ebbing than flowing much of the time,” she notes. But, she says, “Peace is a Biblical word, and central to the gospel message. Peace in all its manifestations—spiritual/inner peace with God as well as nonviolent and redemptive grace-filled responses to conflicts at every level—is desperately needed in the world today. There is no reason to be apologetic about a commitment to peace!”

An ongoing witness

While the conference was an opportunity for BIC folks outside the Philadelphia area to see the importance of a persistent nonviolent witness, Mimi says that the work to end gun violence in the city is far from over.

“Whenever the shalom of the community is destroyed, Christians must speak to it and act to rebuild it,” says Mimi. “We are called to love our neighbors and our enemies. A huge destroyer in the city of Philadelphia is violence through the barrel of a gun, and that in sum is the reason we bear witness.”

Colosimo’s was originally targeted as a location for “bearing witness” by the organizers of the Heeding God’s Call conference because of its documented history of straw trafficking (a process whereby a person without a criminal record purchases weapons on behalf of a gun trafficker, who in turn sells them to others who lack “clean” records). According to Ceasefire New Jersey, a nonprofit organization devoted to reducing gun violence in the state and its surrounding environs, in 2003 alone, nine percent of all guns recovered from crimes in Philadelphia were traced back to Colosimo’s. The group contends that this is the highest percentage among any gun dealer in all U.S. cities.

That is why, according to Mimi and others, Colosimo must sign the code of conduct.
But the store owner objects to just one point of the code: the “computerized crime gun trace log and alert system,” which would connect gun crime back to the retailer. In a recent article published by Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab (MURL), Colosimo responded directly to the Heeding God’s Call protesters, calling their activities “pure blackmail” and suggesting that the group “targeted me because I’m the oldest gun dealer in the city.”**

Colosimo’s objections couldn’t be farther from the truth, according to Mimi. “The protests are not blackmail,” she says. “The protests are putting the pressure on him to take the necessary steps to improve his business practices so that the guns sold out of his store do not end up being trafficked. We must do this. It’s our responsibility as members of a society to hold one another accountable.”

To that end, every Saturday afternoon and Monday evening, advocates from Circle of Hope and other area churches gather outside Colosimo’s with the same demand: sign the code of conduct.

Gun violence “is a moral issue,” says Curtis Book, a member of Circle of Hope Frankford & Norris who has participated in many of the ongoing protests outside of Colosimo’s. “It is time for the faith community to wake up and begin to take a stand.”

Mimi, who regularly attends the Saturday vigils, says that such action is just “another part of being Christian—to be peacemakers, to follow in the example of Jesus.” She has noted responses from passersby—“Many people beep their car horns in affirmation,” she says—and that the ongoing protests have even elicited some meaningful conversation with an employee of the store.

“He comes out to debate with us,” says Mimi. “We’ve gotten to know him and listen to his perspective. He wants to know why we think Colosimo needs take responsibility on gun violence. He wants to know why the Church isn’t taking responsibility and responding to gun violence. He spends a lot of time deflecting the responsibility onto others.”
But, she adds, although the conversations haven’t dramatically altered the employee’s perspective, “it’s all been done in good faith.”

In addition to these gatherings, the organizers of the Heeding God’s Call conference coordinated a Good Friday service outside Colosimo’s on April 10. More than 200 people attended the service, which was led by local clergy.

Those gathered sang hymns, recited liturgy, and shared personal testimonies of the turmoil and pain brought about by gun violence. To close the gathering, the group sang the hymn “Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying” while marching toward Colosimo’s with a poster-sized copy of the code of conduct—“kinda like Martin Luther posting ‘The 95 Theses’ on the front of the cathedral door,” says Mimi.

Curtis found the service’s message empowering. “The sermon challenged us [to remember that] even though slavery was legal, it was immoral; even though the taking of Native American lands was legal, it was immoral to do so. The Second Amendment gives the right to bear arms, but the Declaration of Independence says every U.S. citizen has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The moral law of life must never put at jeopardy the right to life of innocent people caught in the web of gun violence.”

Mimi, who helped to staff the service, was overwhelmed by the response of the attendees. “I was uplifted to see all the people who made their way . . . on Good Friday to commemorate the dead and cry out against violence on a day that, in the Christian year, is soaked with blood and violence as well,” she says.

Faith trials

Mimi and the four others arrested with her will be tried alongside seven other indicted picketers in Philadelphia on May 27. If found guilty, they most likely face fines and probation. The “nightmare scenario,” according to Mimi, would be a sentence of six months to a year in jail.

“I’m not nervous about the sentence,” she admits, adding that the group’s lawyer does not anticipate a severe ruling. “I feel a sense of calm because I am not in this alone. There are 11 other people who are in this with me, plus all of our faith communities, family, and friends, as well as other allies throughout the city. . . . I also draw courage from God and I know this is what Jesus is calling me to do.”

Mimi and her fellow activists hope to use their day in court as a venue for sharing their message of grace and reconciliation, and to call out the violence destroying the peace of the city.

“We hope to pack the courtroom and hallways with people speaking out about gun violence,” says Mimi. “We will also have a public witness at some point during that day to also draw attention to the violence and to the action taken by people of faith to respond to that violence.”

“I’m sure I will feel intimidated to some degree with the process of going through the system, answering to a judge and to lawyers,” she confesses. “But I also anticipate the confidence to put gun violence on trial and to speak against the carnage that is tearing apart the city where I live.”

In the May 27 trial in Philadelphia municipal court, all 12 advocates, including Mimi, were acquitted of all charges related to their January arrests. On his blog, Rod White, pastor of Circle of Hope Broad & Washington, noted that the verdict made him “feel like there is hope” for an end to gun violence.

**Mari Saito, "Guns in Philadelphia" (Philadelphia Neighborhoods, April 15, 2009).

For more information:
Vernon Clark, “Phila. gun-shop protesters acquitted” (Philadelphia Inquirer, May 27, 2009).

Devin Thomas graduated from Messiah College (Grantham, Pa.) this spring, acquiring a degree in English. He currently serves as an associate in the Office of Congregational Relations for the BIC General Church of North America and attends the Harrisburg (Pa.) BIC congregation.