Recent editorials in the Sun-Advocate hit close to home for my family and I would like to add our voices to the excellent articles by Steve Christensen and Nathaniel Woodward.
Steve talked about meaningful assault rifle controls and the courage we need to move aside the NRA in the national gun debate, while Nathaniel spoke about the Angels of Hope Projects.
On Sept. 2, 2016, our 13 year-old granddaughter, Lauren, was brutally murdered in Wichita Falls, Texas, by a 20-year-old man who had been watching her for some time because he was attracted to her. That day he saw her walking home from school, holding hands with her boyfriend. That enraged him and he took his step-father’s .22 rifle and ambushed Lauren only two blocks from her home.
He shot her 15 times, once in the head, the rest to “finish her off” (his words to the police after his arrest). He also wounded one of Lauren’s girlfriends but, thankfully, not mortally. The rifle was not a high-powered assault-type weapon and he did not have multiple high-capacity magazines, otherwise the damage would undoubtedly have been so much worse and Lauren’s friend may not have survived.
So, any gun can kill but military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines do not have any logical place in private hands. For the record, I own several rifles, a shotgun, and various handguns. I am also retired military and a retired cop. I am not anti-2nd Amendment. I am “pro-reasonable gun control.” Another issue with “gun control” is effective identification and treatment of mental health issues. Lauren’s killer had previously been involved in an armed stand-off at his grandmother’s house in a different Texas town.
He was arrested without harming anyone that time and his only “punishment” was a brief evaluation in a mental institution. After his release his whereabouts were not tracked and if he was required to have follow-up treatment/evaluation it did not happen. His mother and step-father knew of his history but allowed him access to their apartment while they were out of town and, therefore, access to his step-father’s guns, including the rifle he used to kill Lauren.
That points out another issue with “gun control:” responsible gun ownership. The recent shooting in Parkland, Fla., has reopened our emotional wounds and frustrations.
We know the pain the loved ones of the Florida victims are feeling: disbelief, anger and unfathomable grief. We also know the frustrations of trying to bring smart and reasonable gun restrictions in order to at least reduce mass murders. Banning military-style weapons and large-capacity magazines, requiring universal/extensive background checks, and establishing an effective mental-health system should be no-brainers and are not an infringement of our 2nd Amendment rights.
As Steve said, it is time to demand change from our politicians and to stand up to the NRA. We will never stop all gun violence but we need to at least try to stop these mass killings with weapons of mass destruction.
Now, about the Angels of Hope. Lauren’s parents, our son Vern and his wife, Bianka, are spearheading the effort to get an Angel statue in Wichita Falls. Here we have a committee to obtain our own Angel for Carbon/Emery County. Thank you, Nathaniel, for sharing your own story of loss and for helping to get the word out. We will be having upcoming fund-raising events and have been contacting local businesses for donations and/or items to be raffled.
If you have suffered the loss of a child, for a $100 donation your child’s name will be engraved on a beautiful perpetual remembrance wall next to the Angel statue.
Contributors of a $1,000 donation will have their names, or business names, engraved on the base of the statue. Any amount may be donated and all donations are tax deductible.
Donations may be made through any Mountain American Credit Union under “Angel of Hope Carbon/Emery County.”
Checks should be made payable to “Angel of Hope.”
For further information you can find us on Facebook @ “ANGELOFHOPECARBON/EMERYCOUNTY” or @ “Don Landavazo.”
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