Mothers protest over US gun laws

Hundreds of people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge demanding stricter gun laws and offering a litany of violent stories to show why they are needed.

Held on the eve of Mother’s Day, the third annual march from Brooklyn to Manhattan was organised by the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Fashion designer Donna Karan was among the supporters.

“Progress is being made, one day at a time,” said Abbey Clements, a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in December 2012. She said about 40% of all gun sales were completed without a background check and accused congress of lacking the courage “to vote on their conscience instead of allowing themselves to be bullied by the gun lobby”.