Late gun safety activist’s message lives on in billboard

FARIBAULT, MINN. – Jon Frasz could always be counted on to wave his cowbell at anti-gun-violence rallies at the State Capitol in St. Paul.

Frasz didn’t have children of his own, but he felt strongly about preventing gun violence in schools, friends said. After a gunman shot and killed 20 6- and 7-year-olds and six adults inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, Frasz made buttons commemorating the Sandy Hook victims. He could always be counted on to passionately argue in favor of gun-control laws to whomever would listen; he was the kind of person who could make friends with folks even if they didn’t agree with his politics, they said.

And he’s remembered for his catchphrase that gun laws are pro-life.

“You never ran into Jon if you were one of the people that shared his views without getting into a really thoughtful conversation,” said Mary Lewis Grow.

Grow is among several of Frasz’s friends and fellow activists who miss the 76-year-old Northfield man, who died earlier this year from a sudden illness. To honor him, they used his slogan to put on an election billboard in Faribault near Interstate 35, as close to his hometown as they could get.

The billboard campaign was part of a statewide DFL election push in rural areas, but the money collected for the Faribault sign came from Frasz’s fellow advocates who miss his compassion and zeal. And now that the election is over, activists are finding new ways to honor Frasz.

Frasz was born in Saskatchewan but his family moved to Minnesota when he was 2 years old. He moved around the country throughout his life before settling back home as a truck driver for a number of years. But he found his passion later in life through political advocacy.

He would often volunteer to go to St. Paul whenever gun-safety groups like Moms Demand Action held rallies, cowbell in tow. He’d stand at booths and spread literature. He’d even go to Carleton College to reprint the Sandy Hook victim buttons and pass them out, all at his own expense.

“He was gung-ho to contribute, to do whatever he could, to advance the things that he believed in,” said Dick Brown, another activist.

That’s part of the reason volunteers felt he should be honored. His friends suggested the DFL use Frasz’s slogan, with a twist: Strong gun laws are pro-life.

Brown was among more than a dozen volunteers and friends, some from his Unitarian church and others from Moms Demand Action, who gathered outside the billboard on Oct. 23.

They swapped stories about Frasz, how he could always be relied on to come to rallies and support speakers, or how he often wrote passionate letters to the editor urging people to support red-flag laws and universal background checks, among other gun safety issues.

“He really believed in social justice,” said Bill Jokela, one of Frasz’s friends. “This billboard is supporting his memory, but it’s also bringing this issue to the forefront.”

It’s something Frasz would want, his friends said. Frasz was even involved in getting the billboard off the ground, charming some of the progressive leaders behind the billboard campaign, according to Grow.

“I always invited Jon to my fundraisers,” Grow said. “I said, ‘Jon, you don’t have to contribute money, you contribute so much with your time, your energy. I want you to be there.’”

Now with the elections over, Frasz’s sign is one of about 40 throughout greater Minnesota that will come down. But Frasz’s friends say they’re looking for other ways to honor the man so people don’t forget his dedication.

“For me, it’s not just political,” Grow said. “I think he was really remarkable and I want people to know that there are people who make significant contributions even if they don’t have a lot of resources. His presence was his influence.”