The organization's leaders remain confident that their planned June 5 sit-in at the Colorado Capitol will result in tangible change, however.
"My experience the past couple of days has been: This is not a hard sell," says Nikki Thorpe, who has been canvassing Denver to gather support. "I would say around 90 percent of the people that we're approaching are like, 'Yes, thank you.'"
But while Thorpe says most people appreciate Here4TheKids' focus on ending gun violence, others are taking aim at the group.
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, which filed two lawsuits against Governor Jared Polis in late April over laws he signed that enact a three-day waiting period before an individual can buy a gun, and raise the minimum age of gun purchasers to 21, emailed a message to RMGO members on May 13 that called it "a disgusting excuse for an organization."
The message continues: "These gun control groups love it when mass shootings happen. Especially when it’s at a school. It gives them a foot in the door to ram their anti-gun agenda down our throats, and they jump on it like a dog in heat every single time."
Instead of gun bans, RMGO suggests banning gun-free zones. "Here’s what would’ve stopped just about every school shooting: every single teacher in that school concealing a gun," it says.
Far-right news outlet Breitbart published a profile on Here4TheKids on May 8 that attracted dozens of negative comments on Twitter. But on May 13, Seinfeld and Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus posted a video to her Instagram in support of the movement. Yvette Nicole Brown, who starred on the popular sitcom Community, is also a supporter.
Here4TheKids leaders say they expect tens of thousands of participants to show up for the June 5 sit-in in Denver, where they'll demand that Governor Jared Polis issue an executive order banning all guns.
That sounds like "kind of a long shot," says Taylor Rhodes, RMGO executive director. "We're taking it seriously, obviously, as we have to. But it's almost laughable that they are wanting to force Polis to sign an executive order on an assault weapons ban when Polis was one of the biggest catalysts for the assault weapons ban failing," he adds, referring to House Bill 1230, which failed in the state's house judiciary committee.
Although Polis never took any public position on HB 1230, Rhodes claims that RMGO heard through Statehouse sources that the governor did not support the proposal.
"If they turn out 25,000, as they claim they're going to, maybe that changes things," Rhodes admits. But if Polis were to issue a weapons ban, he says his organization would file a lawsuit to fight it.
"The Governor supports the right to peacefully demonstrate and these individuals' calls to improve safety and prevent gun violence," the statement continues. "Their specific requests for an executive order banning all guns would simply be unconstitutional."
But Here4TheKids leaders are pressing on, and gaining momentum. The group's Instagram went live on April 12; by May 19, it had more than 50,000 followers.
Saira Rao came up with the idea for Here4TheKids after the March 27 school shooting in Nashville.
After running in Colorado's 1st Congressional District Democratic primary against incumbent Diana DeGette in 2018, she founded Race2Dinner with Regina Jackson; that group is based on the concept of two women of color charging white women to attend dinner parties, where they are schooled in unlearning subconscious racism.
Rao and Jackson wrote a book based on their Race2Dinner experiences called White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better. The organization is also the focus of a documentary, Deconstructing Karen, which was shown to a sold-out crowd at the Sie FilmCenter in March.
Rao used her Race2Dinner experience to found Here4TheKids, calling on white women to recruit like-minded white women to stage massive but peaceful protests.
Although Rao has moved to Virginia, she chose Colorado as the site of the first sit-in. "We'll have one executive order from Polis, and then one for all the other governors in America," says Rao.
"I am extremely optimistic that on June 5, we will have 25,000, if not more, white women ready to put their bodies on the line to protect all of our children," she adds. And not only does she feel confident in the number, but she's confident that the group will produce a result.
"I have to believe that Jared Polis is a decent human being. I have to believe that Gavin Newsom of California is a decent human being. I have to believe that Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan is a decent human being. If you have a position where you can actually protect children — and there are thousands of mothers begging you to protect their children — no decent human being will say no to that," she says.
Rao came to Denver to help organizers canvass local neighborhoods this week. On May 17, she attended a Here4TheKids gathering at the Evans School in the Golden Triangle. There she was joined by dozens of members of the movement, many of whom have been knocking on doors for weeks.
Eunice Brownlee, who's been involved with Here4TheKids for a month, says its growth has been "like a tidal wave," and that she has several friends coming from out of state to take part on June 5.
Mary McEuen, a newer member, was skeptical of the group's goals at first, she admits, but her concerns have been washed away. Based on the size of the anticipated turnout on June 5, she thinks that Governor Polis will be forced to at least say something. "He can't not respond," she concludes.
