September 19, 2007 By DAVID POLLARD, Provisio Herald Woman are wearing pink for more than just fashion reasons. The color also represents political activism, and Maywood resident Robin Schirmer has plenty of pink clothes in her closet. Schirmer is a member of Code Pink, a national organization made up mostly of women who are against the war in Iraq. All of the members wear pink clothing during demonstrations and when they are getting the word about the organization and their cause. "(Code Pink is) a take-off on the color-coded alerts involved in the war," she said. "Nationally, Code Pink started in fall of 2002 when the U.S. was going to invade Iraq." When she and others put on their pink clothes, which at times can be quite outlandish, as their uniform when they protest the war. "We're sometimes wearing pink crowns and pink capes and holding signs," she said. She's been in anti-war demonstrations in the Chicago area and is a coordinator with the Chicago area group for Code Pink. Code Pink got started in the Chicago area in May 2005. Schirmer says she "fell into" joining the group due to her disgust with the war. "My complete anger and frustration is over the invasion and the totally unnecessary deaths of U.S. soldiers," she said. "We do support the troops enough for them to come home safely and to be taken care of when they come home safely." Although the pastel colors may seem soft and unassuming, those involved in Code Pink are quite aggressive when it comes to their cause. Schirmer traveled last week to Washington, D.C., to participate in anti-war rally along with some of her members and other anti-war activists. Members of her group have their own headquarters in Washington, D.C. The headquarters also serves as a dorm for visiting members and it's not hard to miss. It's a pink house. "At least 20 people will be staying in that house," she said. "We are meeting at the White House and marching to the Capitol," she said about the day of the rally. "For the rest of the days, I'll be wherever the Congress is. I'll be at their lunch room. I'll be in their hallways. I'll be at their hearings and I'll be in pink. Wherever Congress is, that's where Code Pink will be and we don't give them too many places to hide." "Our biggest push is to stop Congress from funding the occupation," she said. "In order to do that, we need to be where the Congress is. We'll literally badger Congress and their staff. We're not too shy." Besides hunting down members of Congress and participating in anti-war demonstrations, the 54-year-old is a former attorney, married and mother of a 14-year-old and a 20-year-old. "I currently work in Oak Park part-time for an executive search consulting firm," she said. Her husband of 32 years, John Bouman, said it has become pretty routine to see his wife wearing pink. "I ask her what's the action today," he said. "It's like a day at the office. Once I retrieved her from jail, but that was a fairly unjust thing that happened that was dismissed eventually." Bouman, 58, said he supports his wife, but has his own passion for positive change in the world. He's president of Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, which fights to eliminate poverty in the United States. "I'm excited for her and I support that," she said about her wife's involvement in Code Pink. "It's important to her and that's the way that she expresses her opinion and sense of activism. She supports my work and the things that are important to me. I don't personally participate in most of the Code Pink activities because I express myself in other ways." Schirmer said her involvement in Code Pink is her way of trying to create a better future for her children. "I do this for them because, frankly, I never understood how my parents were alive during the Holocaust," she said. "I do this so my kids don't wonder what their mommy did during the war. They'll appreciate it one day."