Stop Gun Caravan was first established as the Association of
Japanese
Families of Gun Violence Victims in the United States in September,
1994. As the original name indicates, this association was established
by the four bereaved families, the Sunadas, the Matsuuras, the
Itos, and the Hattoris, who all lost their sons to guns in the
United States. Association had objectives of demanding the improvement
of Japanese government's reaction in case of gun violence involving
Japanese citizens in foreign countries, promoting anti-gun attitudes
in Japan where the number of gun violence is increasing, and cooperating
with gun control organizations in the United States in order to
support America's gun control.
The association later changed its name to Association for Civil Movement for Eradication of Gun Violence to accommodate people whose family member was killed in gun violence in Japan.
On November 7, 1996, with the assistance by the National Police
Agency, Stop Gun Caravan was inaugurated with such broader members
as Guardian Angels Japan, and voluntary members from Tate high
school, Oubirin high school, and Fukuoka Futaba high school. The
Caravan now has regular members and associate members. Their home
page address is:
http://www.stopgun.org/.
Achievements of Stop Gun Caravan
*August 1996: Protesting and stopping the production of various
goods
which have a logo, "bitch," and the illustration of
a man pointing the muzzle of a gun at a woman's head.
*November 1998: Asking for exercising self-control for shooting tours in foreign tours, and Japan Travel Agency Association accepted it.
*February 12, 1999: Six bereaved family members and a victim in the United States including Mr. Koichi Sunada won the case against gun manufacturers. The suit claimed that their excessive production and sales caused the flood of illegal firearms in black market supplying guns to criminals and brought damages to the general public. The court recognized liabilities of gun manufacturers.