DfDeportation's Blog

'Murder Moratorium' -- 40 hours of peace Tuesday, April 01, 2008   By Miriam Hernandez

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Can you ban murder and violence? The Los Angeles City Council is asking L.A. to proclaim a 40-hour period of peace. It coincides with the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior. Will this "murder moratorium" really work?

How to slow down the homicide rate, 98 so far this year in Los Angeles alone? Too close to home for young people like Aneeka Hill.

Click in the Eyewitness News story window above to watch the accompanying video to this story.

"I am hurt by it, and I'm mad, I'm upset, I'm angry, I'm scared," said Baldwin Hills resident Aneeka Hill.

The response from community activists and the City Council: a call for a 40-hour period of peace in the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.

"A symbolic moratorium on violence and killing," said L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry.

The proposal instantly raised eyebrows. Councilman Richard Alarcon supports the objective yet asks, would gangbangers even care?

"Those people who normally kill -- if they don't respect the murder laws, why would they respect a moratorium?" asked Alarcon.

The plan calls for a candlelight vigil at MLK Blvd. and Crenshaw Blvd. The moratorium would start at 6:01 p.m., on April 4, the exact time and date of King's assassination in 1968.

"Some have said why 40 hours? If you can do it for 40 hours, no violence, why not 40 days? Why not 40 weeks?" said Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable.

Curtailing crime, activists say, begins with dialogue. They recall a time eight years ago: the shooting death of Lori Gonzalez, the granddaughter of then police chief Bernard Parks. Community pressure on the young gunslingers produced a period of calm.

"We are not asking for law enforcement to step up. We are asking for the people of the community -- it's your turn to be responsible," said activist Lita Sister Herron.

Where we asked about the resolution, emotions unleashed.

"You don't give up, you keep trying," said Aneeka Hill. "But for me, I feel like I can't save the world"

"It's just love. If we can get somebody to care about the kids at a young enough age, then we can make a difference. We don't have that right now," said Hawthorne resident Julius Ward.

"Will it stop violence? Of course not. Will it stop killings? Of course not. But if just one life is saved during that period, we feel we've done our job," said Hutchinson.

Is this an effective proposal or an insult to victim's families and taxpaying citizens???