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N.C. couple walks through Philly for gun control

John and Judy Phelps are walking 300 miles from Newtown, Conn., to Washington, D.C.

John Phelps (center) is joined by his wife, Judy Phelps (left) and daughter Erin Carmena, near North Broad and Arch Streets, the night before the three will walk to Kennett Square to raise awareness and action around gun control and the safety of children on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. John Phelps is the founder of Gun Control Today and has been walking from Sandy Hook, CT. through Philadelphia and ending in Washington, D.C. ( Yong Kim / Staff Photographer )
John Phelps (center) is joined by his wife, Judy Phelps (left) and daughter Erin Carmena, near North Broad and Arch Streets, the night before the three will walk to Kennett Square to raise awareness and action around gun control and the safety of children on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. John Phelps is the founder of Gun Control Today and has been walking from Sandy Hook, CT. through Philadelphia and ending in Washington, D.C. ( Yong Kim / Staff Photographer )Read more
    by BY OSCAR CASTILLO, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:castilo@phillynews.com">castilo@phillynews.com</a>, 215-854-5906
    Published 

JOHN AND JUDY PHELPS of North Carolina are marching for a cause.

They were in Philly the last two days during a 300-mile trek from a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., to Washington, D.C., where they hope to talk gun control with their state's senators, Richard Burr and Kay Hagan.

John Phelps said he founded a group called Gun Control Today and got the idea for the walk after last month's unsuccessful Senate vote on gun control left him in disbelief.

"I want to congratulate Kay Hagan on voting 'yes' on expanding background checks, but I also want to ask her why she voted 'no' on banning assault rifles," said Phelps, 64, a retired chemist.

On Dec. 15, Phelps picked up a newspaper and learned of the horrific events of the day before.

Twenty students and six adults were fatally shot at the Sandy Hook school. The news hit Phelps, a grandfather of four, particularly hard.

"I thought, 'That could have been my grandchildren,' " he said.

Having marched through New York City, Trenton and Philadelphia - where they were joined by daughter Erin Carmena - the couple headed off yesterday for Kennett Square.

"I have blisters on the soles of my feet," Phelps said as he rested his left leg on a table in a Center City hotel before departing. "I should get some stock in Advil."

Follow the couple's march on guncontroltoday.org.