When I was 18 years old, I lost a good friend to gun violence. He was murdered, and every day since I haven’t been able to properly mourn or heal from his death. A couple of reasons why I haven’t been able to mourn or heal from his death are: One, a member of my own family murdered him; and two, in the culture where we come from, if you mourn, it’s almost a sign that you want revenge. So I’m caught right in the middle of not being able to properly mourn, not being able to properly grieve or properly heal.
The affects of his death on my life have been very painful and mind-blowing. Gun violence has been the cause of more deaths with my family and friends then any other cause of death. Gun violence continues to cut short the lives of my family and friends.
Now that I am in the fight to change that, it is more painful and hurtful, as I have lost numerous family and friends in the past few years. Gun violence can be stopped just by creating a culture and world where peaceful resolutions are promoted more.