Directed by Thom Powers • Documentary • 2003 • 53 minutes

Two advocacy groups, The Million Moms and the Second Amendment Sisters, are diametrically opposed on gun control, but they agree on one point: mothers will and should have a voice in determining gun control policy in America. GUNS and MOTHERS explores the grassroots beliefs of both movements by focusing on two different women, living in two different Americas.

Frances Davis lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Having lost all three of her sons to gun violence, she advocates for stronger gun control and supports the Million Moms. She and the Million Moms see stronger gun control laws as a way to prevent the alarmingly high number of deaths of young people from gun violence in America, an estimated 10 deaths per day.

Maria Heil has four children and lives in rural Pennsylvania. Convinced that a gun is a woman's best tool for self-defense, she's become active with the Second Amendment Sisters. These women believe guns are the most effective way a woman can protect herself and her family. They quote statistics about lives saved by the use of guns to support their views. With inside access to both sides, filmmaker Thom Powers shows how both the Million Moms and the NRA recruited women; how tempers flared around the gun issue; how presidential candidates handled the debate; and how the movements looked a year later.

"Heart-wrenching... An admirably respectful analysis of both sides of a divisive issue." —Time Out