December 6th : From the Montreal Massacre to Gun Control: the Inside Story

by RATHJEN, HEIDIMONTPETIT, CHARLES

• ISBN13: 9780771061257
• ISBN10: 0771061250
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart

Summary

On December 6, 1989, Marc Lepine walked into the Ecole Polytechnique at the Universite de Montral, ordered the men out, and then started shooting at the remaining women with a semi-automatic rifle. He killed fourteen women and wounded thirteen more.The slaughter, motivated by his rage against feminists, shocked the world. Heidi Rathjen was a student in the building at the time, and for forty-five long minutes she listened to the shots as the killer roamed the building. In the hours and days that followed, as a member of the former student council, she played a leading role in dealing with the media, helping with the funerals, and in organizing the memorial event. She did not know then that her life had been changed. Rather than continuing to grieve, she decided to do something to help prevent similar tragedies in the future. With the help of Wendy Cukier she organized the national Coalition for Gun Control. This book describes their fight to raise public awareness, gain public support, and then force not just one, but two gun-control bills through Parliament, against the workings of the million-dollar gun lobby. It was an extraordinary campaign, and a political eye-opener for a young woman.

Author Biography

<b>Heidi Rathjen</b> has become one of the most remarkable and prominent young women in Canada, receiving honorary doctorates from Laval and Concordia Universities. As a volunteer, Heidi Rathjen continues to head up the Coalition for Gun Control. She is now the strategist for an anti-tobacco coalition.<br><br><b>Charles Montpetit </b>is a Montreal writer and winner of the 1989 Governor General’s Award for his children’s book <i>Temps Mort.</i>