"Eighty-one shirts flap in the wind on Park Street, a reminder of children’s lives lost.

Kara Gloeckner, the mother of a boy killed in an accidental shooting in Greene County, decided the week preceding Election Day was a good time to display the shirts, which represent the number of Virginia children killed by guns in 2003, the latest year such statistics are available.

Plenty of topics have arisen during the campaign season, from tax increases to the death penalty to abortion. But “we were kind of sad not to see more discussion of gun safety,” said Gloeckner, who has tried to spread information about guns as part of the Charlottesville-area Million Mom March chapter.

More than 5,000 children were killed by guns nationwide in 2003, she noted, more than twice as many U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq in the past two-and-a-half years. Her 13-year-old son, Kody Johnson, died in 2004.

“The regular person has no clue about real [gun] statistics,” she said.

And this year’s political races are not helping, say Gloeckner and a friend, Dana Hatcher.

“I think we have an uphill battle - something like Mothers Against Drunk Driving faced,” said Hatcher, whose 23-year-old son, Shawn, was murdered last year in Albemarle County.

State delegate candidates say gun safety has gotten short shrift this year.

“There’s been no thrust in the local races” or in statewide campaigns, said David J. Toscano, Democratic candidate in the 57th District race.

“One of the reasons it hasn’t been a big issue is [because] most people have made up their minds about guns,” said Toscano’s opponent, Republican Tom McCrystal.

Charlottesville residents, Toscano said, are inclined to support “reasonable” gun-control measures.

And pocketbook issues appear to be more important locally, McCrystal added.

Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, said as a gun owner, he knows the importance of safety laws. He praised sheriffs’ offices for passing out gun locks for free.

His Democratic challenger in the 58th District, Steve Koleszar, said gun safety comes down to education, rather than “more laws and controls.” He lauded Gloeckner’s display as “a really good service.”

Gloeckner said she’s tried to focus her message on gun safety rather than gun control because people of all political stripes agree that safety measures are vital.

Both the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the National Rifle Association agree that guns should be locked, unloaded and inaccessible to children at home, Gloeckner noted.

“It’s not taking away a person’s right to bear arms,” she said. “Take responsibility. Lock up guns.”

Both Hatcher and Gloeckner say homes are safer without any guns, but they both know plenty of responsible firearm owners.

As for children and guns, Hatcher said, “Educate them about it and then lock it away.”" (Kate Andrews, The Daily Progress, November 8, 2005)