Activism on the Gun Front Lines

I'm an advocate for stricter gun legislation. Raised by a cop, married into the ARMY to a momma's boy who was taught to hunt & fish for survival. Neato. We own guns. Legally. If my government wanted me to register these guns, I would with no hesitation.  

Everyone says Sandy Hook changed their life, made them into activists, got them fired up. For me it was a long combination- from my Trauma, to Columbine when my oldest was 2 months old, to a shooting at a Oklahoma school, to starting my career in EMS/nursing. Ah nursing...

This is the lynch pin. This is the icing on the cake, straw that broke the camels back, end all be all. August 2002 I had my first GSV (gun shot victim) who happened to come thru the cardiac ICU where I'd started working. Dude was 27, had 3 kids, there were fights & words in the waiting room... The aorta was toast & couldn't hold a repair. He died. His moms wails haunt me to this day.

Not just his moms tho. It's been a long 13 year career in EMS/nursing. I've heard families fall apart numerous times, in numerous ways, but always always ALWAYS there's that one....voice. That one that penetrates every fiber of your being. Mom, sister, wife, father, daughter... That wail. Every time. 

Hold tight to your values. If God & guns are your religion, fine, but my values are my right to be safe, for my children to be safe from gun violence, & that we don't have to experience "That Wail" ever again.