Page 184 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

P1: GYG/IJD/IBA/IJD
August 14, 2002
0 521 80067 6
CY101-Bimber
CY101-04
Gun Control 18:0
one handgun purchase per month, background checks at gun shows,
the licensing of handgun owners and registration of all handguns, and
improved enforcement of existing gun laws.
In September 1999, the march as an organization constituted one
phone line and two volunteer grandmothers transcribing messages from
an answering machine, as well as the steering committee and network
of volunteer coordinators. It used electronic mail to communicate and
coordinate internally throughout the network, and ran a web site to dis-
tribute information and volunteer instructions publicly. It also aggres-
sively sought donations and media coverage. Vickie King, a volunteer
for the Million Mom March, reported that in the beginning “almost ev-
erything [was] done on-line” and added, “Idon’t think we could have
done it without the Internet.” 149 In a pattern consistent with the efforts
of gay activists to support Tim McVeigh, the new information technol-
ogy permitted the rapid, inexpensive development of a wide network
of participants in the absence of traditional political organization; the
existence of that network then validated the project as newsworthy and
permitted the organizers a forum in the mass media. As news stories
grew, the march attracted donations and additional volunteers. 150 By
late April 2000, the march was operating seventy-five phone lines and
receiving tens of thousands of visits per day to its web site. 151 It opened
an office in Washington, took on paid staff, and hired professional or-
ganizers and public relations experts. 152 The cycle of fund raising, orga-
nizing, and media attention continued to snowball throughout the fall
and winter. The Washington Post in particular provided extensive cover-
age, especially as Mother’s Day approached. 153 In mid-March, an article

149
VickieKing,staffmember,MillionMomMarch,telephoneinterviewbyEricPatterson
for the author, April 17, 2000.
150
According to a report in the Washington Post, the Million Mom March raised
$2.3 million as of May 11, 2000, a few days before the event. Andrew McGuire, Execu-
tive Director of the Bell Campaign, oversaw the Million Mom March’s finances. More
than $200,000 was raised through T-shirt sales and individual contributions; the bal-
ance came from foundation and corporate underwriting. The largest single donation
was from an anonymous New York City business executive who gave $1 million;
other large donors included CIBC World Markets Corp. ($250,000), Dannon Yogurt
($150,000), the Barbara Lee Family Foundation ($200,000), and the Funder’s Col-
laborative for the Prevention of Gun Violence ($500,000). Reported in Susan Levine,
“A Roster of Gunfire’sNextofKin,” Washington Post, May 11, 2000, p. B1.
151
Megan Rosenfeld, “A Force of Nurture Readies for Battle: Born on Labor Day, Gun
Control Rally Is Set for Mother’sDay,” Washington Post, March 23, 2000, p. C1.
152
Ibid.
153
On May 11 alone, for example, the Post ran nine articles about the march or the
marchers.
167