It's Mother's Day! and you know what that means. Millions of moms in our nation's capital, talking about guns.
America's mothers are basically divided into two camps: those who want breakfast in bed this morning with a gun on the tray, and those who would prefer it without.And please clean up that mess in the kitchen!
Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a new millennium and Mother's Day turns into Gun Control Day.
Today at High Noon in Washington, D.C., the Million Mom March (MMM) meets the rally of the Armed Informed Mothers (AIM).
The women of MMM are standing up for tighter gun controls, especially in the handgun area.
The women of AIM are standing up for self-defense and the Right to Bear Arms.
Both sides have agreed to show up unarmed in our nation's capital. Not even rolling pins.
Yes, times have changed. About 40 years ago, Ozzie, Rickie and David surprised Harriet by bursting into the bedroom with French toast and orange juice. Today, Harriet wouldn't even be there. She'd be in Washington, supporting one side or the other. These days, it's hard to say which.
Either "No Glocks Without Safety Locks."
Or "More Guns -- Less Crime."
The Million Mom Marchers will convene on the east side of the Washington Monument in the National Mall, while the Armed Informed Mothers -- a division of the Second Amendment Sisters -- will be on the other side of the monument on the southeast corner of the Mall at Constitution and 17th Street.
It should be quite a sight: a hundred thousand women at the Mall.
Both movements started out, in true mom style, at home.
The first was the Million Mom March, which came about after a mom named Donna Dees-Thomases was watching television at her home in New Jersey last August and saw footage on the news of a man shooting kids at the Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles.
This touched a nerve with Donna, who got a permit to march on the National Mall on Mother's Day and then spread the word with an Internet company.
The Million Mom March was born.
As momentum built and built for the gun-control group, some women were not pleased. One of them, Kimberley Wilson of Tallahassee, Fla., decided to do something about it. Along with four women she'd met in an Internet chat room, she formed the Second Amendment Sisters and they organized their Armed Informed Mothers counterbalance to the Million Mom March.
When it comes to what to do about guns, the only thing the two groups have in common is they're all women.
The Million Moms cite that 12 children are killed every day in the United States by a firearm.
The Second Amendment Sisters cite that every 13 seconds in this country someone uses a gun in self-defense against a criminal.
The Million Moms want safety locks mandatory on handguns.
The Second Amendment Sisters say crooks love safety locks -- it gives them a head start.
The Million Moms want to make it harder to buy guns.
The Second Amendment Sisters want to make it easier.
They both say their way will make their kids safer.
Standing on either side of the Washington Monument, they'll have plenty to argue about this Mother's Day.
And if the rest of us are smart, we'll go ahead and let them.
Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.