MOTHERS UNITE; LOCALS TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR STRONGER GUN LAWS IN MILLION MOM MARCH.

Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer

NEWHALL - The gun violence of the past year has been a wake-up call for Newhall resident Marianna Groisman.

``There were so many incidents that it made me want to stop sitting there, crying in front of the TV set, and get out and do something,'' she said.

So she decided to get involved in the Million Mom March, which will take place in 20 cities across the United States on Mother's Day, May 14. Mothers, fathers, families, or anyone who wants stronger gun safety legislation are encouraged to march that day to send a message to lawmakers.

Donna Dees Thomases, the New Jersey mom who envisioned the march, was watching television last August as small children were led in a daisy chain from the North Hills Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, the site at which Buford O'Neal Furrow Jr. is accused of opening fire. As she watched, Thomases had a vision of a million moms getting out and saying ``enough is enough,'' Groisman said.

Groisman was also watching television that day, and along with the horror of seeing an assault on innocent children came the shock of recognition: Her own children had attended that preschool when they were young.

``It hit very close to home,'' Groisman said. ``I felt what happened that day as if it had happened to my own children.''

The massacre at Littleton, Colorado's Columbine High School in April 1999 and the shooting death in February of a first-grader by a classmate in Michigan also had an effect on Groisman because the incidents happened in suburban areas where people typically feel safe.

``As moms, we feel very powerless when a 6-year-old takes a gun to school and guns down another 6-year-old, then the next day we have to take our kids to school and leave them there,'' Groisman said. ``After Columbine, I was afraid to drop my kids off at Hart High School, even though it was a nice school in a very safe area. Columbine showed me that it could happen anywhere.''

As gun violence continued to make the news, Groisman's horror turned to outrage and she resolved to do something to make the world a safer place, so she became the coordinator of the Santa Clarita chapter of the Million Mom March.

``I felt this was something I had to do to make a difference in my children's future, and the future of all children,'' she said.

Groisman has spoken to area PTA groups, mothers groups and community organizations, spreading the word about the march, and says the response has been encouraging.

``I think people are tired of nothing being done about gun violence, and tired of children getting hurt,'' she said.

Groisman hopes the march will show both the community and the lawmakers where most people stand on the issue of gun violence. The marchers are not calling for the banning of guns, but just for sensible legislation.

``I hope Congress will look at all of us and realize that the public wants a change,'' Groisman said. ``I really, honestly think it will make a difference.''

A pair of Million Mom Marches are scheduled for Los Angeles on May 14, one starting at 10 a.m. at the Westwood Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard, and the other at 1 p.m. at El Pueblo Church near Olvera Street.

Those interested in marching can visit the group's Web site at www.millionmommarch.com or call [phone].

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Photo: Marchers include, from left, Veronica Williams, 5, and mom Kathy Williams of Saugus, T Katz of Canyon Country, Denise Koek of Valencia and Mariana Groisman of Newhall.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News